The Prince and the Girl-Who-Lived
by Crocogirly
Summary: What if Hari Potter (fem.Harry) was suspended after helping Sirius escape the Dementors in Hari's third year at Hogwarts? What if she got tired of being in constant danger and not seen for who she is but always as her parent's daughter or the Girl-Who-Lived? What if Hari had enough and escaped? What if she went to her friend in Seigaku? Read and find out how that changes the lives
1. Prologue

**First of all: Hi! It's the first time I post anything at . I have an account at Archive of our own where I have posted a few stories already. I use the same username over there as I do here, so it should be easy to find me at AO3 if you so desire.**

 **This story is also already posted on AO3 (up to chapter 5 so far) and I will try to post on this site as well, but I will admit that I'm more familiar with the other site. I figure that this will change as I keep posting on both sites. I do hope you'll give the story a chance.**

 **Also, I'm not a native English speaker so mistakes will unfortunately happen. I do try to catch my own mistakes, but grammar isn't my strongest side, I must admit.**

 **I do like constructive criticism and talking to the readers and always do my best to answer reviews as fast as I am able to. I enjoy getting ideas from you all and inspiration for my work.**

 **Furthermore, I am already writing a Harry Potter/Kuroko no Basket crossover called "Finding your way home" over at AO3 and that will be the story I will focus the most on. So, that story will be the one that has the most regular updates. So far it's also only posted at AO3. I might post it here as well at some point. I will try to update this one as often I can, though :)**

 **Oh, yeah: I do not own Harry Potter or Prince of Tennis. Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling and Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi!**

 _Hari walked and ignored the hot sun that burned her skin as she kicked a rock that was lying on the ground. She watched as it skipped further up the curb as she turned off the concrete road and walked down a dirt path she had walked many times before._

 _Thwock … thwock… thwock…_

 _Hari blinked as she turned her head toward the sound and saw a boy with black hair with some green in it and a white cap on his head. She blinked. She had never seen him before and he was holding a tennis racket and hitting balls so they hit a tin can. She turned and walked to the edge of the court while watching the boy who seemed so focused on what he was doing that he didn't see her._

 _Thwock… thwock…thwock…_

 _She couldn't stop looking as he hit the can again and again… it looked so easy yet hard and she blinked in awe as he caught the ball that spun back to him. He straightened up and turned to look at her._

" _Who are you?" he asked bluntly._

…

" _Come on, Hari!" the boy yelled. "We're almost there!"_

" _Wait, Ryo-chan! Wait!" Hari yelled breathing hard and blinked as a hand reached out and grabbed her hand to pull her forward and she smiled as she followed her friend._

" _There!" he said. "Mada mada dane."_

 _Hari breathed hard as she stopped running._

" _Why did we have to run, Ryo-chan?" She asked when she caught her breath._

" _To train our stamina," Ryo-chan said._

" _Why?" she asked._

" _Because we're going to be great tennis players!" Ryo-chan grinned pushing at his cap._

" _Tennis-players?" she repeated._

 _..._

" _Mada mada dane," Ryo-chan said smirking at her and pointing his racket at her._

" _Argh," Hari grumbled getting back to her feet and dusting herself off. "One more time!"_

" _You sure? You're still going to lose," Ryo-chan teased._

" _One more time!" Hari snapped._

" _Hai," he said._

 _..._

" _We're leaving…." Ryo-chan said._

 _He wasn't smiling._

Hari startled awake and blinked as she remembered the dream, but why did she dream about him now? She hadn't really thought about him for ages and she should just forget him like he had forgotten her. She rubbed her eyes tiredly as she fell back on her bed and stubbornly refused to let her mind wander to him. She was not going to think about him. Absolutely not. She sighed and turned onto her side as she tried to get her mind away from him.

She was currently at Privet Drive number four even when it was April and months until Hogwarts ended, yet the thirteen-year-old was back there where she was friendless and alone. It wasn't really that strange that she had dreamt about the first time she had met her first friend, come to think about it. Not when she had been separated from those she now considered friends…

"… _after a thorough examination it has been decided that Harriett Lily Potter will be suspended from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for the remainder of the school year."_

The words still spun in her mind even after arriving back at Privet Drive number 4 and being locked in her room for the last day without much food or even water. Hedwig was also locked into her cage and was unhappily glaring at Hari like it was her fault.

She could still see the smug look on Snape's face as the Minister of Magic himself had read up the conclusion of their small inquiry at the school. Hate and anger boiled inside of her just remembering Snape and his smugness like he had triumphed over her by going over Dumbledore's head and getting the Minister directly involved.

Suspended from Hogwarts, unable to leave the Dursley's like she for those glorious few hours thought she would be able to, unable to contact her friends or anyone at Hogwarts at all for months. And for what? For trying to do the right thing and save her godfather from being kissed by Dementors?

It felt unfair and wrong, and what was more she was the only one who had been suspended. Ron and Hermione had not been and they had been there with her, but they had parents who cared and stepped up to protest. Who did Hari have? The Dursley's? They didn't care nor was they really consulted ("they're muggles, Miss Potter"), but she knew that even if they had been consulted they would have enjoyed seeing her hurt. The only thing they hated by this was that she was back in their house months before she should.

Sirius? While he seemed to care about her (at least more than most) he was unable to help given that he was the problem in the first place.

Remus? They wouldn't listen to him because of his werewolf status. He had also been run out of Hogwarts when Snape (the git) had outed him as a monster for the entire school. Forget the fact that he was the best Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher they had ever had, forget that he was a human being, forget humanity completely, no he was a werewolf and turned into a wolf once a month and that was enough to be idiots.

The more she thought about the magical world the more she disliked it, Hari found. She remembered when she first learned about the world and everything had seemed so perfect and amazing. She had been so innocent and naïve back then, back before she had been forced to do a grownups job. Back before she had almost been killed several times because a madman had decided that he wanted her dead. And no one really did anything to keep her safe.

Why did she even want to remain at Hogwarts?

"Girl!" Petunia's shrill voice sounded and seconds later her door was unlocked and her aunt was standing there looking at her like she was dirt.

Oh, right…because she had to remain with the Dursley's if not… Hari sighed.

"You'll make dinner for us and don't make a mess!" Petunia snapped.

Hari got to her feet and moved toward the door. A slap on her cheeks had her tearing up at the pain and unexpected action. She refused to let them fall, though, as she stepped back and stared at her aunt.

"Answer me when I talk to you, girl," Petunia sneered.

"Yes, Aunt Petunia," Hari said in a monotone voice.

She walked to the kitchen and started dinner while Petunia walked to the living room and joined her son and husband in front of the television. Hari sent the living room a glare as she finished dinner and set the table, she didn't set a plate for herself knowing she was not allowed to join them.

"Dinner is ready, Aunt Petunia," Hari said quietly from the doorway.

"About time, girl," Vernon said. "Any slower and we would have starved to death."

Not likely, Hari thought but wisely didn't say anything. She waited until Petunia sent her to her room and she walked back to the smallest room in Privet Drive and fell back onto the bed again.

"I'm sorry, Hedwig," Hari said when Hedwig hooted. "I wish I could let you out."

The days passed much the same and Hari was set to do the chores like she had grown up doing, and Petunia seemed to enjoy making her work hard from morning till night making her fall asleep exhausted.

"I hate this," Hari mumbled as she stared at the dry bread at the plate in front of her. It wasn't necessarily the bread she hated, but being there cut off from her friends. It hurt that they hadn't sent her a letter; did they blame her for what happened?

She felt her muscles ache as she got up and walked to the sink to do the dishes, she then went to find the washing cloth and started to scrub the floors before she moved onto the windows. It was well past lunch before Petunia said she could take a break.

She stared out of the window with unseeing eyes as she drank the cup of water that she was allowed to have. Her mind was on her friends again and she wondered what they were doing. They should be finished with Defence Against the Dark Arts now… She wondered who Dumbledore had gotten to teach when Remus wasn't there anymore.

Hari sighed as she spotted the mailman and she got up to go and get the mail before Petunia asked for it. She picked up the small stack of envelopes that was lying on the floor just inside the door and was about to place them at the small table next to the hall when her name caught her attention. Did she get mail? A sudden feeling of Déjà vu hit her and she frowned. She glanced at the living room where she heard the sound of one of Petunia's shows and walked back into the kitchen to open her letter.

 **Hi Hari,**

 **I try again even if you don't reply to my letters. I don't know why you never do when you promised you would. Don't you want to write to me, Hari?**

 **Anyway, we have (or dad has) decided to move back to Japan soon. Mum is packing our things already and I have to start to pack my room. Mum's already asked several times. I just don't want to move. Not again. But dad says he wants me to attend the same Middle School he went to as a kid, Seigaku Academy. I guess it should be interesting to see just how good this school is and if it can help challenge me in tennis.**

 **Do you play any tennis at all anymore, Hari? I hope you do, but I haven't seen your name in any of the tennis competitions in Britain. You were good, I remember.**

 **Okay, I have to go and start packing. I hope you answer this one, Hari. Dad said that maybe you could come and visit sometime.**

 **Bye,**

 **E. Ryoma**

Hari stared at the letter with wide eyes and her breath had caught in her throat as she stared at the writings of a boy she had met years ago and who she had believed had forgotten all about her. But…this letter proved that he hadn't and he had tried writing her over the years even when he didn't receive any letters back.

She narrowed her eyes and stormed into the living room where Petunia looked up startled before glaring at her, but before her aunt could open her mouth to say anything Hari was already speaking.

"Why did you never tell me that Ryoma wrote to me?!" she almost growled.

Petunia's eyes widened slightly and then she paled before she caught herself and glared at Hari.

"That isn't any of your business," Petunia said.

"It's very much my business!" Hari snapped. "He's my friend and he wrote to me! Why didn't you let me have his letters? Why? Why? WHY!"

Petunia stared at her for a long moment and Hari breathed harder and she felt tears in her eyes, but she couldn't help it. The first friend she had, the first friend who had seen her and talked to her without bullying her hadn't forgotten her like she thought. He was still trying to reach her, and she hadn't answered because of her so-called family.

She had met Ryoma when he had lived a couple of streets away from here, back when she was 9 and he was 8, and they had met at a tennis court that was almost hidden away. Hari used to go there to hide from Dudley and his gang, and one day she had seen a boy with dark hair and a cap playing tennis against himself. He had looked lonely, like her, but at the same time looked so…peaceful and graceful that she had almost thought he was a dream.

He then had asked her if she played and she had almost lost her balance when he talked to her. She still remembered his voice, it was calm and soft. Though, a little impatient. She remembered how he asked again and she had shaken her head making him sigh looking disappointed. He had then offered to teach her and she had accepted just because he had talked to her. She wanted to talk to him more, but he hadn't been very talkative.

"That man thought the friendship was unwise," Petunia said breaking into her memories and she frowned at her aunt.

"Who?" Hari asked calming down slightly but still angry.

Petunia stared at her before she sighed and turned off the television surprising Hari since she never done that before. She had expected to be slapped for her questions and disrespect, but her anger had made her storm in and demand answer before her mind had caught up with her.

"That headmaster of that school of yours," Petunia said. "He told us that the friendship outside of that school was not to be encouraged."

Hari felt something inside of her fall apart and she sank down at the chair behind her as she stared at her aunt. She wanted to deny it, to say that Dumbledore would never do anything like that. That he was a kind man that cared about her and would never separate her from her only friend. She clenched her hands together so harshly that her nails dug into her palms drawing blood but she didn't notice as the horror of the truth came to her.

Dumbledore had made her aunt and uncle withhold letters from Ryoma from her. He had made her believe that she was forgettable, that she wasn't worth the hassle to keep in touch with. She couldn't wrap her mind around it. Why would he do that? Why? Just why was it bad that she had friends?

"Do…do you have the letters?" Hari whispered.

Petunia sniffed before getting up and left the room. Hari stared after her feeling empty and lost, all of her anger had left her and she now only felt alone and completely empty.

"Come on, girl!" Petunia called impatiently and Hari blinked before she got up and saw Petunia at the top of the stairs looking down at her. Hari ran up the stairs and followed Petunia up to the attic where she pulled out a small wooden box and pushed it toward Hari.

Hari stared at the box and barely noticed that Petunia had left without another word. Hari didn't really have any energy to wonder about the fact that Petunia had actually given her the letters and told her the truth. She would never have believed it if she hadn't just witnessed it.

Tentatively she carried the box with her down the ladder and down the stairs and out of the house. Somehow she felt she had to be there for reading the letters. There at the place where she had met her first ever friend. She finally reached the tennis court and found it empty and saw that it had decayed over the years without regular use. She doubted that anyone besides Ryoma had really used it, and her when Ryoma taught her of course.

She sat down and pulled out the stack of letters and there was plenty. She swallowed as she took one and opened it. She quickly read it and sobbed slightly as she realised for real that he had never forgotten about her. She sat there until long after dark and read the letters (not noticing that she used a wandless and soundless Lumos-charm to be able to read in the dark).

After having read the letters Hari used the next few days to think about what to do and used her time to do chores to think about her life and what her options were. Going back to Hogwarts was not something she fancied. She never wanted to see that man again! Ever. He had taken Ryoma from her and that was unforgivable.

Hari scowled as she washed the windows startling the neighbour who happened to look at their house right then but Hari didn't see her or notice the startled look on the neighbour's face. She couldn't believe that she had fallen so deep under Dumbledore's influence. Just why did she think he was so great?

It didn't tempt her to stay here either because it was clear she was an unwanted and unloved here and she refused to let herself live like that. Not again. She had seen what it was like to have friends and someone who cared about her. At least she thought Ron and Hermione cared about her… but they hadn't written… doubt filled her for a moment but she pushed it away.

She had to get away; she had to find a new life. Her mind drifted to Sirius, but she hadn't heard from him since he had escaped on Buckbeak nor had she heard from Remus. She was disappointed at the lack of contact, but it wasn't like she had expected it either.

Then her hand stilled as she thought about Ryoma. He had said (in almost every letter) that she was welcome to come and visit them. Perhaps she could go and see him? Perhaps Ryoma's parents could help her? Was there hope?

Problem was that they were in Japan and she was in England, and how was she as a minor manage to travel all the way there by herself? She was sure there was something stopping her from doing so, but…perhaps… her mind spun with possibilities as she finished the chores and started dinner.

She frowned as she thought and was caught unprepared by a hand grabbing her arm hard causing her to yelp and look up at the angry face of her uncle.

"Watch where you're going, girl;" Vernon snapped.

"I'm sorry, uncle Vernon," Hari said.

"Spacing out and causing trouble," Vernon muttered as he pushed her away from him and made his way to the table and sat down to eat his dinner. "You should be happy we allowed you back into the house before the summer. You're so worthless and incapable of staying out of trouble! Being suspended for abetting a criminal! I've never been so ashamed."

Hari looked down and tried to push his words out but a voice in her mind whispered that he was right. She gritted her teeth refusing to rise to the bait he offered.

Hedwig hooted sadly and Hari looked at her with a sad smile and walked over to the cage and offered some food to her. It took from her own food, but she couldn't watch Hedwig starve and she knew her owl was already hurting being locked up like this.

"I'm a terrible friend to you, Hedwig," Hari mumbled. "I'm sorry."

Hedwig hooted and nibbled at her finger in a comforting move and Hari smiled slightly. She walked back to the bed and picked up the one gift she really enjoyed; her photo album. She had placed a photo of her and Ryoma at the back, it had been in one of the letters and Hari couldn't stop looking at it.

She was standing next to Ryoma who was looking a little awkward but he was smiling his small smile that she knew meant he was happy. She was also smiling leaning slightly toward Ryoma with a lighter look in her eyes than normal. She remembered the day it was taken very clearly. It was one of the best days in her life before Hogwarts, still was actually. She had spent the day with Ryoma and his family. His mother, Echizen Rinko, had fussed over them and cooked delicious food for them all to enjoy before Ryoma's dad, Echizen Nanjiro, had pulled them to the tennis court to play tennis.

She put the photo album back on the nightstand and lay back on the bed staring at the ceiling again. She wanted to see Ryoma again. She wanted to see her friend. It was almost like a burning inside of her that said that the right place for her was with them, but how could she get there? And…would they allow her to stay?

Was it right for her to go there? Would she bring problems with her? She shook her head, she couldn't think like that. She had to stay positive and focus on how she could get there.

"Aunt Petunia…" Hari nervously asked from where she was hovering in the doorway to the kitchen. Vernon had just left for work and Dudley had left for school.

"What do you want, girl?" Petunia asked.

"I…um, I wanted to ask you something," Hari said.

"What?"

"I know you don't want me here and I don't want to be here," Hari said getting Petunia's attention as she turned away from the bench and stared at Hari with her light blue eyes.

"Sit down," Petunia ordered and Hari sat down and watched her aunt do the same. "Talk."

"I want to go to my friend," Hari said bluntly taking confidence from the fact that Petunia was listening. "But as a minor, I can't travel that far by myself without consent from a guardian. That's why…that's why I thought that if you allowed it, I could go."

Petunia arched a brow and stared at Hari without saying anything for a long time. She pursed her lips and Hari fought the urge to press her to talk.

"Why should I allow that?" Petunia asked.

"I would be out of your hair," Hari said, "at least until summer. If…if I can manage to figure something out before then, perhaps longer."

"You could leave and never come back?" Petunia asked.

Hari nodded.

"What about that school of yours?" Petunia asked.

"What about it? I don't want to go back;" Hari said coldly and Petunia arched a brow. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but she closed it before anything came out.

"How are you getting to your friend?" Petunia asked.

"I can buy a plane ticket," Hari said.

"We're not paying for it," Petunia said immediately.

"I have money," Hari rolled her eyes. "Enough to pay for the ticket, anyway. I also need a passport."

"We have one for you," Petunia admitted. "Vernon has a possible business trip this summer and since both me and Dudley are coming with him we had to make a passport for you as well, seeing that you would have been made to come with us."

Hari nodded stunned at the possible luck she had. That meant that she didn't have to talk to the goblins about a passport and that made anyone tracking her more unlikely. She knew how…challenged wizards were in the muggle world.

"Oh, thanks," Hari said.

Petunia sniffed and got up to make some tea and much to Hari's surprise she was given a cup of tea as well.

"I suppose we can manage that," Petunia said looking at her. "Though, what are we going to say when they come looking for you?"

"Tell them what you want," Hari shrugged. "Tell them I ran away from home. Tell them I moved away and don't want anything to do with them anymore."

Petunia seemed to look at her with something she had never seen before and Hari wondered just what her aunt was thinking, but Petunia never revealed what she was thinking.

"Or you could move away and hopefully they won't find you," Hari shrugged.

Petunia nodded but she didn't look too happy about moving away, but Hari could tell she was thinking about it.

"I will need to talk to Vernon," Petunia said.

Hari nodded and took that as the dismissal it was and got back to her chores.

After that everything moved rather quickly. Just like she thought the Dursley's were very interested in getting her away and hopefully out of their lives for good. Vernon had even almost smiled at her when he had called her down to the living room the very same night.

It was decided that Petunia would take her to London the next day and while Petunia shopped in Muggle London Hari disguised herself and entered Diagon Alley. She went to the bank and found out that she could get a muggle bank card that would make it easier for her to get access to her money. She also changed some money into muggle money before she left the bank and went to the different shops she needed. She bought many books she thought would be useful for further studies (she knew her magic needed training so she would study by herself) and a new magical trunk that allowed her to hide her magical items from the muggle customs.

After she was done in Diagon Alley she went to a muggle clothing shop and bought a few new shirts and pants since most of the muggle clothes she had were Dudley's old ones. She didn't want to stand out too much.

Finally, she met Petunia at their scheduled spot and was on her way back to Surrey hopefully for the last time. She didn't relax until they were back at Privet Drive and back in her room with her new items. Now the only thing left was pack.

Two days later Hari was on a plane and on her way to Japan, Tokyo.

 **AN: Hope you liked it and I'll try to update again soon! Please let me know what you think :) Thank you for reading!**


	2. Finding Ryoma again

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Prince of Tennis!**

...

So…she was there. Finally, she was standing outside of Seigaku Middle School and felt completely lost on what to do next. Hari hadn't really thought about this part yet. Something, she realised, was kind of a large flaw in her plan. Just…how was she supposed to find Ryoma in this school? While not as impressive looking as Hogwarts (but then again which school would stand a chance against a magic castle in the Scottish High Lands?), Seigaku looked like a good school that was reasonable rich and well off. She had certainly seen worse schools back in Surrey. At least Seigaku looked like a school without death-traps.

Anyway, the problem at hand was how to find Ryoma and then explain why she suddenly showed up after years without contact and not answering his letters. He was probably angry at her for that, Hari frowned. She bit down on her lip as she tried to think and figure out what to do. She was not sure how long she had been standing there in front of the school, but she was sure it was a while.

She glanced at her bag that was thrown over her shoulders and smiled as she thought about the magazine she had bought at the airport. It was a sports magazine and they'd had a piece about Ryoma in it, which was the reason she had bought it.

Deciding to just enter the school ground and hope to find Ryoma that way she started to walk and lugged her suitcase behind her as she did. She looked around curiously as she walked around the school. It was much larger than she had first thought and she was briefly wondering how she was supposed to find her way inside of this place. It was like a maze! So annoying she frowned as she suddenly was at the gate again. Just how did she get back there!

Annoyed she turned and walked to the left and walked and walked and walked some more. Just how large was this place? And why did she suddenly find herself inside? She hadn't meant to walk into the school, but she had thought she could use a shortcut and get out on the other side somehow.

It was like being back at Hogwarts and always getting lost. Only this place wasn't even as big or had any staircases that moved, so really, she didn't have much of an excuse. Not that she would ever admit that.

Finally, she found the door leading out and she saw a dirt path and she decided to follow it, soon she saw large wire fences that looked like cages or something and she smiled in triumph when she saw the tennis courts. There! She found it! But…did it has to be that many? And…these looked empty.

Sighing as she started to doubt that she would find Ryoma this way she continued to walk until she saw a girl up ahead swinging a racket. Hari paused and tilted her head slightly as she observed the girl; she had long brown hair that was in two ponytails that were braided and a sweatband around her head.

"Oi, oi, oi," the girl said as she swung the racket.

Hari could tell she was a beginner and not very good, but the determination was there so Hari found herself smiling slightly as she watched her. But…did she really think that practising tennis in a short skirt was the best idea?

Hari shrugged and started to walk again.

" _You're not bending your knees enough,"_ Hari said in English just because she felt like saying it, but like her dad and godfather, she did have some mischief in her.

"Eh?" The girl blinked stopping mid-strike and stared at Hari shocked. "What did you say?"

Hari just smiled at the girl.

" _Um…sor-sorry, don't…um,… know?"_ the girl stumbled clearly not very good in English.

" _I see, you're determination is good but your swing is lacking in power,"_ Hari continued. " _Bye!"_

Hari waved and continued to walk chuckling quietly to herself as she walked the direction she thought she should go. She heard the girl call her, but she wanted to find Ryoma so she didn't stop.

...

" _Hm,"_ Hari hummed as she blinked as she found herself staring at a wall. " _How did that get there?"_

She thought she had found the tennis courts, so why did she suddenly stare at a wall? Sighing she turned and walked back the way she came and found the cages again, she looked to see that the girl from earlier was gone. She should have asked where the tennis club where instead of pretending that she didn't know Japanese. Oh, well… it had been funny to pretend that she didn't understand her.

She continued straight ahead and soon noises could be heard and she spotted a crows standing at the side of a cage. She smiled to herself as she quickened her steps slightly.

She paused behind a group of what looked like freshmen and she recognised the girl from earlier but now she was with another girl and three boys. Hari looked away from them and at the tennis court where a game seemed to be going on.

Her eyes widened and she smiled.

"I found you," she grinned as she had indeed found Ryoma. He was standing on one side of the court with a red racket in his hand. It was clear that he was in the middle of a game and he wasn't the only one. Several of the courts were occupied by games.

Deciding that she shouldn't interrupt she turned toward a group of trees and put her suitcase underneath it and climbed up to settle on a branch because it would give her a great overview of the games and she would be hidden from view. She didn't want Ryoma to become distracted by seeing her before he was done.

Besides…this gave her time to watch him play.

She hadn't really watched tennis in a while so she enjoyed getting the chance to watch it again. Even if she hadn't watched or played in a while she could clearly see that the one Ryoma was playing wasn't one of the best and that Ryoma was holding back as he easily won.

"Ryoma-sama! Ryoma-sama! Ryoma-sama!"

The loud cheers made her wince and rub her ears as she turned her green eyes to the girl with pigtails jumping up and down holding some sort of pink banner and in Hari's opinion just being annoying and loud.

She noticed that two grown-ups had joined the girls and the woman with short reddish-brown hair had a camera around her neck while the man with brown hair and yellow shirt had a bag over his shoulders. They must be journalist or something, Hari guessed before turning her attention back to the game. Which had just finished…

Hari smiled as she observed Ryoma who had taken a seat on the bench and she noticed that he didn't even sweat or look tired as he pulled at the sweatband around his left wrist. She arched a brow as she recognised it and swallowed as she suddenly felt rather emotional. It was the wristband she had given him before he left England… She couldn't believe that he was still wearing it.

She yawned as the matches seemed to end and they all took a break for lunch and Hari settled back on her branch and closed her eyes feeling tired. She smiled as she remembered the way Ryoma played, she wished he would face a stronger opponent so that they could see what he really could do.

A loud sound startled Hari enough to wake her from her slumber and she had to grip the branch to prevent herself from falling down. She turned her eyes to one of the courts and arched a brow when she saw the boy with spiky black hair jump into the air and for a moment she almost thought he was flying before he smashed the ball to the opponent's side so hard that it was impossible for the other boy to return it.

"Ooooh…" Hari hummed as she looked closer at the boy. He was good, she thought.

She kept watching as the boy talked to two other boys who were standing just outside of the wire fence before walking to the bench and putting on a blue and white jacket. Now that she thought about it he also had on a white and blue t-shirt the same as the other two boys behind the fence, but the one he had played had only worn a blue training suit and a white t-shirt. Did the white and blue t-shirt mean something special perhaps?

A smile spread as she saw Ryoma enter the court and chuckled as he walked passed the boy she had just watched smash the ball seemingly with his eyes closed. Just what was he doing? Anyway, they talked for a bit and it seemed like Ryoma found some of what the older boy said interesting because his eyes opened and he turned toward him.

...

It was time for Ryoma to play again and Hari pushed herself up more on the branch knowing that she wanted to watch him play. She saw the crowd had grown for this match and it was clear that it meant more to them than the others. She also saw that the player (he looked kind of scary, but she supposed that it didn't really mean he was scary…just look at Hagrid) that Ryoma was facing was wearing that white and blue t-shirt. It had to mean something. But…what was with the way he walked? He looked like he was slouching and his arms seemed to be dangling lazily as he walked.

The match started and Ryoma had the serve. Hari watched as he served and the other player, bandana she would call him since she didn't know his name, returned it. It continued like that for a little while until bandana-guy failed to return a ball.

15-0 – Ryoma in the lead. Since she couldn't hear what the referee said she had to count the scores herself.

They started again and it continued like before, back and forth for a while until it looked like Ryoma had managed to get the ball past bandana-guy…but…what was with that stance? She frowned confused.

Hari felt her eyebrows rise as he actually reached the ball and returned it. Her eyes followed the ball and she felt them widen in shock as she saw the way it twisted and turned in the air, changing direction and putting Ryoma out of place.

15-15.

That was unexpected, Hari thought, leaning back at the branch as she looked at the two. She saw the shock in Ryoma and wondered if he would show them more of what he could do now.

"Finally," Hari smiled as she saw Ryoma change the racket from his right hand to his left. This was only the beginning.

The match continued and it went back and forth seemingly pretty tight as they won one game each setting the score 1-1. Hari had no trouble seeing that they both were serious now and studying the other as they stared at each other. She couldn't help the smile on her face or the feeling of peace and happiness that filled her as she watched her first friend play.

He didn't even know she was there, but right now that she was watching him play she didn't really care. It was enough right now to just get to watch him play tennis again, something she had missed more than she thought. It was so long since she had played tennis herself, Quidditch had taken her time at Hogwarts and besides, it wasn't like many there even knew what tennis was, something else that the magical world missed out on, all of the wonderful muggle sports.

Hari grimaced as she thought that those shoots from bandana-guy reminded her of a snake and she couldn't help remembering the basilisk. Ugh, that wasn't something she wanted to think about at all.

Ryoma sure was running a lot, Hari thought a little worried. She was sure that it was in the bandana-guy's plan and she had to admit that it was a good one. She worried her lip slightly as she kept watching. Yet, as Ryoma ran and ran his shots never wavered and he returned enough to keep the score even and bandana-guy was starting to look worried.

Hari suddenly saw Ryoma smile as he said something and she smirked lightly as she realised that Ryoma had turned the situation around. While he looked like he was sweating a lot as well, but the bandana-guy was also sweating and Hari could tell he was looking shocked like it had suddenly snuck up on him.

The match continued like this with them winning a game every other time and a real endurance match took place. Hari wondered who would last the longest as she sat on her branch watching them curiously. Her eyes widened when she saw Ryoma suddenly use one of the bandana-guys moves against him, the one looking like a snake. That had to be a blow to bandana-guy's confidence, Hari thought taking note of the shocked expression on the guys face as he turned to look at the ball that had just gotten passed him. She also noticed that the audience also looked shocked seeing the move and seemed to look at Ryoma with something like respect in their eyes.

Ryoma won and he didn't even smile. So stoic he was, Hari thought fondly. He had smiled more when he was in Surrey. Why didn't he smile more? Well, the rest of the freshmen looked happy and soon the boys that looked to be his age ran to the court and surrounded him while he looked on with a blank face. The girls from earlier, braided-twin-tails and pigtails, was jumping up and down cheering looking like he had just won Nationals or something.

Hari furrowed her brows in worry when she noticed that bandana-guy was hitting his knees with his racket pretty harshly, even drawing blood. She winced as she stared at him. Why would he do that? He had his face away from where she was sitting so she couldn't make out his expression before he turned and she saw the angry scowl on his face and the pain hidden there.

She watched as he refused to shake hands with Ryoma and walked, no stalked, off the court passed the other boys with the white and blue t-shirt that was standing watching at the side. She was so busy watching that she didn't notice that she had gained some attention there she sat.

"EH! WHO ARE YOU AND WHY ARE YOU SITTING UP THERE?"

Hari blinked and looked down to see the two freshmen girls (braid-girl and pigtails-girl) and also the two (whom she guessed were) journalists staring up at her with wide eyes. She sighed inwardly as she stared down at them without revealing what she was thinking or that she had understood what they said.

Hari also noticed that the girl's loud voice had gained the attention of the remaining players on the court, Ryoma and the white-and-blue-guys being some of them as well as the freshmen boys. Oh, she really should learn their names because giving them these nicknames wouldn't work in the long run. Well, whatever.

She looked back at the girls and stared at them as they stared at her though she was aware that the others were moving closer and coming up behind them.

"Oh, there really is a girl in the tree, nya," a red-haired white and blue t-shirt-guy said cheerfully as he stared up at her.

"Who are you?!" pigtails demanded. "Why are you here? Are you spying on Ryoma-sama? I'm the president of his fan-club so you have to go through me before you're allowed to do that!"

Hari tilted her head slightly as she blinked at the over-enthusiastic girl. Just who was she and did she have to be so loud all the time?

"Ano, I don't think she understands you, Tomo-chan," braid-girl said nervously. "She spoke English earlier…"

The other girl, Tomo-chan, blinked and looked at her.

" _Who are you?"_ she tried in very accented English. " _What are doing here?"_

Hari sighed and swung her legs off the branch and jumped down ignoring the shocked exclamations from the others as she did and landed perfectly on her feet and straightened up to look at them.

"Ah," a familiar voice said and Hari looked passed the girls and to Ryoma who was standing in the back having been uncaring about the whole thing but now his hazel-coloured eyes had widened and his mouth was slightly opened in shock.

"Oh, do you know her, Echizen?" one of the loud freshmen boys asked.

" _Hello, Ryo-chan,"_ Hari greeted with a smile in English. It was too much fun to keep her ruse up. " _I'm sorry to drop in on you like this. It's been a while, huh?"_

Ryoma seemed to pull out of his surprise and moved closer to her and his eyes shone in something she couldn't name. He stopped in front of her and narrowed his eyes.

" _A while?!"_ he repeated. " _You haven't returned any of my letters! Why are you here?"_

Hari frowned slightly and looked down before looking back at him worrying her lip as she did. She hated to show weakness but she felt unsure and guilty by the hurt look in his eyes as he stared at her. She had hurt him even if she hadn't known…

" _I'm sorry, Ryo-chan,"_ Hari said quietly. " _I never meant… I never received your letters. My aunt and uncle never gave them to me. I'm sorry. I only saw one letter a couple of weeks ago and I asked my aunt and she admitted that they had hidden your letters."_

He frowned but he didn't look angry anymore.

" _Why would they do that?"_ he asked.

Hari shrugged.

"Ano, Echizen, who's this?" the dunk-guy asked and up close Hari noticed that he had purple eyes.

Ryoma turned to look at them his face blank again and Hari turned to look at them as well. Ryoma looked at her and then back at the other tennis players plus fangirls.

"She's my friend, Hari Potter," Ryoma said.

"Where did you meet, nya?" the red-head from earlier asked bouncing up and down causing the one standing next to him (with short black hair that was shaved on the lower-half of his head) to reach out to calm him down.

"England;" Ryoma said.

" _Hello! I'm…Kikumaru Eiji, nya,"_ the boy gave her a peace sign as he introduced himself in broken English. "Yoroshiku!"

"Momoshiro Takeshi," the dunk-guy said, "call me Momo-chan!"

"Oishi Shuichiro," the one who had calmed Kikumaru down smiled kindly at her.

Hari nodded back to him and the others before they continued to state their names and some came with a broken English greeting, it was clear that English wasn't their best subject and she almost smiled as she watched how they struggled to find the right words.

"Fuji Shusuke," A smiling boy with closed eyes finished the introduction round and Hari felt he was someone she should look out for. It was something with his aura that had her wary.

" _When did you arrive, Hari?"_ Ryoma asked turning back to their conversation.

" _Today,"_ Hari shrugged and gestured to the suitcase under the tree. " _I didn't know where you lived so I came here looking for you, Ryo-chan."_

Ryoma nodded and smiled slightly, " _alright. You're coming home with me, then."_

Hari smiled and nodded.

...

Hari helped Ryoma clean up the court unaware of the clear blue eyes that were watching them from the shadows as she and Ryoma talked as they cleaned up the court in English as normal but she was aware that the freshmen were watching them closely.

When they finished she waited for him to get changed before they could start on their way back to his place. As they walked she got more and more nervous as she thought about what his parents would say. It was one thing to meet Ryoma again; she knew he wouldn't ask too many questions. He never did and she had counted on that he was still like that. But his parents…they would ask and Hari was not sure what to say.

Ryoma was glancing at her and she knew he was curious, but she smiled and he shrugged giving her a small smile back. He told her about one of the tennis matches he had played back in America before they moved to Japan and Hari listened closely.

" _Here we are,"_ Ryoma said.

"Sugoi," Hari said as she stared up at the house after entering the yard that was hidden behind a wall. "It's perfect."

It looked like a mix between a traditional and modern house, something she couldn't help but think fit this family really well. She noticed Ryoma looked at her with a raised brow and she blinked at him.

"You said that in Japanese," Ryoma said when he found his voice again.

"Oh, yeah," Hari smiled at him. "I taught myself Japanese so I could talk to you in your language."

He looked a little surprised before he smiled wider, "honto?"

Hari nodded and he laughed.

"And you pretended not to understand the others back at school?" he asked amused.

"Well, it's funny to hear what they say when they believe you can't understand you," Hari shrugged but a mischievous look was in her eyes.

"Great," he said and started to walk up to the house again.

She followed and swallowed the nerves as she did and entered the house.

"Tadaima," Ryoma called out.

"Okaeri," a female voice answered before they saw a young woman with long dark blue hair and purple eyes came into the hallway from what Hari guessed to be the kitchen or living room. The girl was slender and rather tall, taller than Hari anyhow, and she looked surprised when she saw Hari behind Ryoma. "Oh, did you bring a friend with you home today, Ryoma-kun?"

Ryoma glanced at Hari before looking back at the girl.

"Hai," Ryoma simply said. "Where's Oyaji and okaa-san?"

The young woman blinked and looked away from Hari and over at Ryoma again who was looking at her.

"Oba-san and Oji-san are out," the girl said. "Oba-san should be back soon."

Ryoma nodded and turned to Hari who stood a little unsurely just inside the door.

"Hello, I'm Meino Nanako," the girl, no Nanako, smiled kindly at Hari. "I'm Ryoma's cousin."

"Hi," Hari smiled nervously back. "I'm Hari Potter. Nice to meet you."

She saw the surprised in Nanako's eyes when Hari spoke in good Japanese, but she didn't ask anything as she just smiled and turned to go back to the kitchen.

"Come on, Hari," Ryoma said and lifted the suitcase to place it on the wall. "Let's go up to my room while we wait."

"Ok," Hari nodded and followed him up the stairs and to the room that was obviously his. It wasn't very large, but a good size and a bed were in the corner and a desk on the opposite wall with a bookshelf next to it. She saw several tennis balls lying around the room and a tennis racket was standing leaned against the bookshelf. She saw schoolbooks on the desk suggesting that he was currently working on some homework for class.

Hari wasn't aware that Ryoma was watching her as she looked around the room. She sat down in the office chair and spun back and forth softly as she turned her eyes toward her friend.

"You've grown since last time I saw you," Hari said.

"Che," he said and walked to the bed. "So have you."

She smiled, "I suppose I have."

...

"Ryoma-kun!" Nanako called up the stairs and Hari blinked tiredly as she realized that she had drifted off a little. She felt guilty about it, but Ryoma didn't look annoyed as she met his eyes. He smiled slightly and pushed himself up from the bed and she got up to follow him.

"Hai!" Ryoma called back.

"Oba-san and Oji-san are back," she called.

Hari inhaled deeply pushing the doubt, the worry away from her mind the best she could and followed her friend down the stairs.

Hari heard the voices coming from the room behind the door and she briefly wondered why she was so worried, she had always liked Ryoma's parents before…but she was worried. What if they didn't let her stay? What if they sent her back? What if they got angry and prevented Ryoma from seeing her?

Before she was ready they had entered the kitchen and Hari saw the girl from before and Ryoma's parents. They hadn't changed much from the last time she'd seen them, Rinko was still slender with brown hair and brown eyes. She looked elegant and nice, Hari thought just like she had when she was a kid.

Nanjiro…well, he looked like Nanjiro, Hari supposed only now he was in what she thought looked like monk-clothes (though it looked rather ruffled) and his black-brown hair was messy, Hari also noticed that he had the same eyes as Ryoma, the hazel-coloured ones.

"Ah, Nanako-chan," Nanjiro was whining as he sat on the chair leaning back almost tipping it too far so he would fall off it. "Who's with the brat?"

"Oyaji," Ryoma snapped annoyed and Nanjiro's head snapped toward them and he smirked at Ryoma before his eyes landed on Hari and she saw how he blinked and fell forward on his chair snapping into place in his shock.

"Ryoma…" Rinko turned from the kitchen counter where she had been working on dinner, but she too trailed off when she saw Hari.

"Domo," Hari said nervously.

"Eh? Hari-chan?!" Nanjiro asked before he smiled and got to his feet. "Is it really little Hari-chan?"

"Dear," Rinko smiled as she came forward and Hari blinked once before she found herself hugged by the older woman. Hari stiffened at first not used to the hugs (even if Hermione and Mrs Weasley hugged her from time to time) before she relaxed and let the older woman hug her.

" _Oh, sorry, Hari-chan,"_ Rinko suddenly said pulling back and looked at Hari's flushed yet confused face, " _we forgot and spoke Japanese to you."_

"Oh, that's ok," Hari smiled at her and saw her eyes widening, "I learned more Japanese after you left."

"That's really impressive," Rinko smiled at her. "You're very good."

"Arigatou," Hari said shyly.

"You've gotten so big, Hari-chan," Nanjiro grinned a little creepily, but Hari smiled at him. "Such a beautiful young lady."

"Oyaji," Ryoma glared at his father who laughed.

...

"I didn't know you were coming, Hari-chan," Rinko said when they had eaten dinner and was seated in the living room.

"I…I didn't know how to call and I kind of just decided to go," Hari said looking down missing the look from the others.

"Ryoma has been very worried about you when he never received a letter from you, Hari-chan," Nanjiro said looking at her even as he had his newspaper open and looked like he was reading it.

Hari looked down feeling guilty and sad again.

"I know," Hari said quietly. "I…never got the letters."

"Eh?" Rinko asked confused yet her eyes narrowed as she looked at Hari.

"My aunt and uncle never gave me his letters," Hari said looking at them. "I only saw the last one by mistake when I got the mail. I think Aunt Petunia forgot about it."

"They…hid his letters from you?" Nanako asked shocked.

Hari shrugged and looked away from them. She could feel them watching her and knew Ryoma was frowning.

"Ano, why would they do that?" Nanako asked.

Hari felt the anger boil in her gut as she heard the question and burning hate and anger, yet also hurt and pain filled her as she thought about her old Headmaster who seemed to think he had the right to manipulate her and take away her only good memory from her childhood in Surrey.

"Apparently an old coot decided that I shouldn't have friends outside how his school," Hari spat turning her burning eyes toward the others and she saw the startled looks as they saw her.

"Hari-chan?" Rinko asked and Hari calmed down a little.

"Gomen ne," Hari mumbled.

"What did you mean, Hari-chan?" Nanjiro asked his newspaper forgotten.

Hari sighed. How was she going to explain this without revealing magic to them? How was she going to make this believable? Yet another thing she hadn't really thought about…

"Ano…I guess a lot has happened since I saw you last," Hari said looking up at them feeling tired and so, so exhausted. Why was her life such a drama-zone? Why couldn't she just have a normal uneventful life like everyone else?

"Hari?" Ryoma looked worried even if he tried to hide it behind a stoic mask.

"It started when I turned 11 and got accepted to my parent's old boarding school in Scotland," Hari said and saw the arched brow from Rinko. "I never knew anything about my parents, not until Hagrid…a gamekeeper at the boarding school came to explain everything to me. Apparently, my parents were…rather well-known and had been killed by a terrorist that had plagued Britain back then."

"Oh, my… how old were you when they died?" Rinko asked looking on verge of tears but there was strength in her eyes as well. Hari looked down; she didn't like the look of tears in Rinko's eyes. She didn't want her pity.

"I was fifteen months," Hari said a haunted look in her eyes as she remembered the Dementors and her mother's scream. "I was the only survivor when he attacked. Mum and dad both died to protect me (she remembered her dad calling her mum to take her and run) and…he failed killing me when he tried."

Hari looked at her hand to avoid looking at them and getting to lost in her memories to register the silence that filled the room when she took a break from talking.

"I was known as the Girl-Who-Lived because of that…and most in the same circle as my parents remember that" Hari said frowning. "When I first started the school I loved it and thought it was the best place in the world. I got new friends and a place that seemingly wanted me and welcomed me…a place where I didn't appear to be a burden."

"Hari-chan…" Nanjiro blinked.

"But it's not really that great," Hari continued. "The professors mostly see James and Lily's daughter, they don't really see me. They all expect me to live up to how they were at school, good or bad…"

Take Snape for an example, Hari thought bitterly and his smug face from when she was suspended flashed through her mind. He hated her because of her dad, not because of something she had done, but because he hated her dad.

Even Professor McGonagall was guilty of seeing her parents and not her when she looked at her. The flying incident where she should have gotten detention but was put on the Quidditch team instead was one example, or when she and Hermione were caught out of bed in their first year. They were punished too harshly back then, Hari could see that now. She knew McGonagall did it to try to prevent Hari from developing the same disregards of rules as her dad…again not seeing Hari and punishing her for her faults.

"Etoo," Hari paused thinking. "Anyway, I'm kind of rich, I suppose. Many want to control me and have these ideas of how I should be or do. My old headmaster is one of those…He wants me to be the ideal my parents died for…"

Hari trailed off not able to say anything else as hurt filled her again. Why did he do that? She had thought he was like her grandfather or something. She had thought he cared. She was so stupid…

"That's sick," Ryoma scoffed breaking the silence that had filled the room.

Hari snapped her head up and looked at him. He looked angry and she felt a little warmer over the fact that he was angry at her.

"Then, what now?" Rinko asked.

"Why aren't you at your school, Hari-san?" Nanako asked.

Hari worried her lip for a little while before she sighed.

"I was suspended for the remainder of the year," Hari admitted quietly. "My friends weren't, but I was and was sent back to the Dursley's. Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon weren't happy about it and I…couldn't stay there."

"You ran away?" Rinko asked.

"Why were you suspended?" Nanjiro asked at the same time.

Hari looked away and she fisted her hands against her thigh.

"There was an incident at school and…I was blamed for it," Hari said quietly. "My friends and I were blamed, but only I was suspended. They had parents that protested the suspension. I think they wanted to make a statement, and I'm a good scapegoat."

Rinko frowned but Hari was pleased when she didn't press the issue, right now she wasn't sure she felt like talking about it.

"And I didn't run away," Hari said. "Well, not exactly. Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon gave me permission to go in the hope that I won't be back."

...

 **AN: Ok, so I'm new here. I told you in the first chapter. Meaning that I'm trying (and failing) to format the chapters so I'm happy with the way they look. I'm used to how it is at AO3, so this is taking some getting used to.**

 **I forgot (sorry) to add this in the first chapter. So, I'm talking about it now. I haven't decided on a pairing just yet. I keep making it harder for myself to decide because I like so many. My candidates are:**

 **A)Hari/Fuji S.**

 **B)Hari/Sanada G.**

 **C)Hari/Yukimura**

 **I did also have Atobe as a possibility, but I don't think I will pair Hari with him. If you have any wishes I do take it into consideration. Let me know in the reviews if you have a opionion. Though, I do chose the one I like the best in the end.**

 **I have 3 more chapters to put up before I'm caught up to where I am at AO3, but they will probably not be up until tomorrow or the weekend. It depends on various things.**

 **Thank you for reading and hope you'll let me know what you think in the reviews. I would appreciate it if you have anything to criticise that you make it constructive criticism. I can handle that well enough and use it to improve :)**

 **...**

 **Japanese words used:**  
 **Yoroshiku - Nice to meet you**  
 **Sugoi - Amazing**  
 **Honto - Really?**  
 **Tadaima - I'm home**  
 **Okaeri - Welcome back**  
 **Oyaji - Old man/ dad**  
 **okaa-san - Mum**  
 **Oba-san - aunt**  
 **Oji-san - uncle**  
 **Domo - thanks, hello, nice to meet you**  
 **Arigatou - thank you**  
 **Ano - filler phrase**  
 **Gomen ne - Sorry**


	3. Talks and Ryoma vs Inui

I forgot to add this in the previous chapter, but here it is now:  
Italic ( _"like this"_ ) means it's spoken in English  
Bold type + italic ( _ **"like this"**_ ) means its spoken in Parseltongue

Italic might also be used in flashbacks / or dreams but it will be made clear when it's dream or flashbacks...

 **...**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Prince of Tennis!**

...

...

Hari was staring at the ceiling in the room she had been shown to and tried to fall asleep, but her mind wouldn't calm down or shut off. She couldn't help but go over what had happened since she had arrived in Japan, well, even before that too.

She knew that her life had now taken a new direction, she had changed her path into something she didn't even have the imagination to picture. Even if she was sent back to England after her visit here she knew she wouldn't be the same Hari Potter that had been suspended from Hogwarts. She wouldn't be the naïve little girl who believed every word Dumbledore said and breathed. She had lost the final part of herself that had anchored her to the magical world.

She refused to think about that time, but she knew that the latest event (if she could call it that) had changed something inside of her and the betrayal from the man she had looked up to had just made her decision set in stone.

She turned on the bed and her head rested against the arm popped under the pillow. Her mind went to Rinko and Nanjiro, and she wondered what they would do. They had sent her to bed with a promise of more talks later when she was rested after her journey. They hadn't really said anything on how they reacted to her story, and Hari wondered if she had said too much. Or perhaps too little? It was difficult to explain completely without going into the magic world and all that.

Could she tell them about magic? Did she have anything left to lose by breaking that rule? Was it something she was willing to risk? The questions turned in her mind and she missed Hedwig. She missed her comforting presence and wished she was there, but she took comfort in knowing that she would be there soon. She was a smart owl and Hari had told her to come to her in Japan, so she would. It was just a long flight.

...

Hari was slowly brought back to the living by the sounds coming from the house as its occupants started to rise for the day. She blinked and groggily rubbed her eyes trying to get the sleep out of them and sat up on the bed. She took a moment to try to remember where she was as she looked around in the unfamiliar room before she remembered and gasped softly. She was in Japan…she was really at Ryoma's house. It wasn't a dream. She had found her friend and had him back after everything.

She got out of bed and walked to her suitcase to find clean clothes before making her way to the bathroom which was luckily free. She heard voices coming from downstairs and thought she heard Rinko's voice calling for Ryoma.

"Ey, Echizen!" a voice sounded from outside just as Hari descended the stairs and Hari saw Ryoma coming out of the kitchen. He paused when he saw her though.

"Ohayo," Hari smiled.

"Ohayo," he said back. "I have to go to school, but I'll be back right after."

"Ok, see you," Hari smiled and waved.

He smiled briefly before leaving and Hari made her way into the kitchen and saw Nanako and Rinko sitting by the table while Nanjiro was seated on the floor reading the newspaper (or supposed to read the paper).

"Ah, Hari-chan," Rinko smiled. "Did you sleep well?"

"Yes," Hari smiled back not letting out the fact that she had struggled with falling asleep. She didn't want the older woman to worry. "Thank you."

"Breakfast," Nanako said and put a plate on the table and Hari realised that she hadn't noticed the other girl getting up to find her food.

"Thank you, Meino-san," Hari told the girl gratefully and sat down at the table to eat.

"You're welcome, Potter-san," she smiled pleasantly.

Hari ate in silence as her mind went back to her problems and situation; she was worried and curious about what would happen to her now. She glanced up at Rinko who was reading some files and looked focused on her task.

Hari didn't really feel the need to fill the silence but it did feel a little strange sitting there quietly and unsure about what to do or what they expected from her. Did they expect her to go out? Or did they expect her to help around the house? Or perhaps to go back to the room that she had been given?

She worried her lower lip as she stared down at the now empty plate and waited for something to happen. She heard the ruffling of papers and Nanjiro muttering to himself in the background. Getting tired and restless by just sitting there Hari got up and grabbed her plate and took it to the sink to wash it. She then continued to wash the rest of the dirty dishes.

"Oh, Potter-san! You didn't have to do that," Nanako protested when she saw what Hari was doing.

Rinko blinked and looked up as well.

"It's no problem," Hari shrugged. "I can do it."

"Well, thank you," Nanako said looking a little uncomfortable but Hari wasn't sure why. Had she done something wrong?

"Hari-chan," Rinko called, "can you come with me for a moment?"

Hari nodded and followed Rinko farther into the house and into a room that looked to be an office, probably Rinko's. She noticed that Nanjiro also had followed them and closed the door behind them. Hari couldn't help but feel worried.

...

"I think we need to have a talk, Hari-chan;" Rinko said kindly yet firmly and Hari gathered all of her courage and nodded.

"Ok," Hari said.

Rinko smiled at her and Hari relaxed slightly when she didn't detect any anger from the older woman and Nanjiro was also smiling from his seat. They didn't seem upset with her, so maybe they wouldn't kick her out just yet.

"I need to know what you want, Hari-chan," Rinko said leaning forward slightly as she trained her brown eyes at Hari. "You said yesterday that your aunt and uncle hoped that you won't be back."

Hari nodded refusing to look away or show or anything, really. She kept her face blank as she looked back at the woman.

"They hope that" Hari confirmed.

"What I need to know is what do you want?" Rinko asked.

Hari shrugged and didn't say anything.

"Hari-chan?" Rinko pressed.

"I don't want to go back;" Hari admitted quietly and clenched her hands against her thigh as she admitted her secret (or not so secret) wish.

She looked up in time to see Rinko and Nanjiro exchange a look before they looked back at her and Hari frowned lightly.

"Hari-chan," Rinko said gently. "For me to be able to help you, I need to know why you don't want to go back."

Hari blinked and looked at Rinko.

"Help me?" Hari asked feeling confused.

Rinko frowned a little and looked at Hari with a look Hari couldn't understand, it was like she was upset over something, but Hari couldn't understand what.

"Yes, we want to help you," Rinko said firmly like she was trying to make some point.

Hari knew she should tell her why, but something was also keeping her back. Her whole plan of getting away from Britain and the magical world was starting to seem very unrealistic for her. Just what was she expecting?

"I don't like it there," Hari said simply.

"And why is that?" Rinko pressed.

Hari gave her a searching look and Rinko met her eyes without looking away or showing what she thought. Hari wondered just what she wanted to hear and if she really would help her if she asked because she had met adults who seemed to care but they all ignored the treatment she received from the Dursley's when they saw or heard about it.

Hari knew Mrs Weasley meant well and cared about her in her own way, she had taken her in the summer between her first and second year and treated her like one of her own. But she had dismissed it when Ron, Fred and George had told her about the bars in front of her window. Like it was normal.

"Hari-chan," Rinko said suddenly much closer to Hari who blinked at her seeing that she was almost within reaching distance now. She had a worried look on her face. "Why do you not want to go back to your aunt and uncle?"

Hari looked down thinking hard about what to say or not to say. Would they think she was just whining if she told them? It wasn't like her aunt and uncle really hurt her or anything…well apart for the occasional slap. They did put a roof over her head even when they clearly didn't want to. They gave her food, at least enough so she would survive.

Hari steeled herself if she wanted her plan to work out she had to tell the truth. Even if she now had second thoughts about it, she had decided and she had put everything on this plan. She couldn't be weak and back down now! She had to tell it as it was and then live with it. If Rinko and Nanjiro couldn't help her, she would have to think about something else. It was just how it was.

Hari looked up again and met Rinko's eyes with a determined look.

"I'm just a burden and unwanted by them," Hari said as evenly she could. "The only thing they see me as is their servant. Someone to do their chores and cook their meals, I'm not family to them. I…"

Okay, so maybe her voice cracked a little. Hari stopped and cleared her throat as she tried to gain control over herself again. She refused to break down. She was used to this, so she shouldn't break down just because she said the truth of her family out loud.

"Hari-chan," Nanjiro said and his voice was unusually serious and stern and Hari looked over at him to see the anger in his eyes and she felt like flinching away. Was he angry at her? "Did they ever hurt you?"

Rinko glanced at her husband like she wanted to say something before looking back at Hari who was biting down at her lips as she glanced at the two adults. She hesitated. Again. She didn't know that they took her silence as confirmation and only saw how their eyes showed anger and sadness as they looked at her.

"Hari-chan," Rinko brought her attention back to her. "Please, tell us the truth. I can't help you if you're not telling me the truth."

Hari swallowed and nodded, she pushed her feelings away. Like she had done so many times already.

"Only…only sometimes," Hari admitted. "Just a slap if I'm not respectful enough or does the chores fast enough."

Rinko looked so sad and upset that Hari felt a little overwhelmed.

"I think we'll say it's enough for now," Rinko said and smiled at Hari. "Thank you for telling us the truth, Hari-chan. We'll do our best to help you. I promise."

Hari nodded and felt empty as she sank back in her seat.

"Oh, it's time to ring the bell!" Nanjiro suddenly exclaimed loudly and stood up and grinned. "Bell, bell, bell…and girls…"

Hari watched as he rushed out of the room and couldn't help but feel he had done that trying to break the tension in the room. Rinko chuckled a little and Hari glanced over at her to see the fond look on her face.

"He's always like that," Rinko said fondly.

"I remember," Hari said quietly.

Rinko smiled, "what do you want to do until Ryoma gets back, Hari-chan?"

Hari shrugged.

"I'm sure Nanjiro would welcome you at the shrine," Rinko said.

Hari nodded but she wasn't sure she wanted to go there either. She got up and smiled at Rinko.

"I think I'll go to the room and read a little," Hari said.

Rinko nodded and Hari felt her watching her as she walked out of the room. She could hear Nanako in the kitchen as she walked past the room.

...

"Hari!" Ryoma's voice sounded making Hari look up from the book on transfiguration she was reading. She quickly put it back in her suitcase where the magic items were hidden and closed it before she walked out of the room.

"Hai?" Hari answered just as Ryoma rounded the corner as he came up the stairs.

"Want to come with me to practice tennis?" he asked.

"Sure," Hari smiled, "just let me grab my sweater."

Ryoma nodded and Hari quickly grabbed her sweater and pulled it over her head before pulling her auburn hair back into a messy bun to get it away from her eyes.

"Ready," Hari smiled at Ryoma who nodded and turned to walk down the stairs.

Hari glanced at Ryoma as they made their way through the streets toward a place where they could practice tennis. He was quiet and had a blank look on his face making her wonder a little. He had changed a little since she'd seen him last, he was more prone to smile then.

"You didn't have a match today?" Hari asked breaking the silence.

"No," Ryoma said. "I play Inui-sempai tomorrow."

Hari blinked and wonder who Inui was, but didn't ask.

"What kind of games are you playing anyway?" Hari asked curiously having wondered about it since the day before. "It looked to be intense."

"It's the ranking tournament," Ryoma explained looking over at her. "It's to choose who will become the regulars on the tennis team."

"Oh," Hari said. "So the boys in the white and blue shirts are regulars?"

Ryoma nodded, "yes."

"I see," Hari said.

"Ah, there it is," Ryoma said and she looked up at a tall building with 'Tennis' written on the wall pretty high up.

...

Hari stood right outside of the cage as Ryoma was hitting the tennis balls as they came flying at him from the machine and she watched as the balls bounced off the wall as he hit it. He made the whole thing look effortless and easy, but she knew it was harder than it appeared to be.

"Do you play anymore, Hari?" Ryoma asked as he hit a ball.

"I haven't played in a while," Hari admitted sadly. "I did play a little last summer when I was home from school, but then I had to leave and I didn't have the opportunity to play anymore."

"That's too bad," Ryoma said. "Where's your racket? Didn't you bring it?"

Hari winced and was glad he wasn't looking at her.

"No…," she said.

"Why?" he asked and she could tell he was frowning.

"Dudley broke it," Hari admitted sourly as she remembered her beloved tennis racket breaking into pieces.

Ryoma stopped hitting the tennis balls and turned around ignoring the balls that kept coming at him as he stared at her with wide eyes.

"Haaa? Nande?" Ryoma asked.

Hari shrugged bowing her head slightly to hide her eyes from Ryoma's searching ones.

"He never liked it when I had something he didn't have," Hari said simply before looking up again. "He never liked sports or anything like that, but he couldn't stand that I had something I liked so he destroyed my racket. I had to borrow others when I wanted to play on the street courts after that."

Hari saw the anger crossing his face as he stared at her and he opened and closed his mouth without anything coming out several times.

"We'll need to get you a new one," he settled on and turned back to the tennis balls and started to hit them again.

If he hit the balls a little harder than need by then Hari didn't comment on it as she watched him with a small smile.

After a while, Ryoma stopped hitting the balls and stepped out of the cage. Hari arched a brow at him when he held out his racket to her. She took it and felt the weight of the racket in her hand again making her smile slightly.

"Go on," he said and nodded toward the cage. "Try it."

Hari grinned and didn't need to be asked twice before she entered the cage and heard the wired screen door close behind her with a metallic click.

She put her coin into the machine before taking her position. She waited for a moment before the first ball comes flying toward her.

She used her right hand to hit the ball back and grinned as she felt her racket (or Ryoma's racket) connect with the ball and watched as it flew back toward the wall. She adjusted her hold on the racket as the next ball came before hitting the ball.

She felt Ryoma's eyes on her and was curious to learn what he thought, she knew she wasn't on his level of good but she was better than the last time they had met and played. She took a step back and used a backhand to hit the next ball.

"Ah, Ryoma-kun," Hari suddenly heard a female voice said and she fought the need to look over her shoulders to see who it was. "You're not playing…"

"No," Ryoma said shortly.

"Why?" Sakuno, Hari recognised the voice from the twin braid girl from the day before, said.

"Hari is playing," Ryoma said like it was obvious, which it was.

"Oh," Sakuno said.

"What are you doing here?" Ryoma asked.

Hari snorted quietly as she hit the next ball at the rude question from Ryoma.

"Oh, um…" Sakuno stammered and Hari would bet she was blushing. "Grandma told me you might be here…"

"So?" Ryoma asked.

"So…I just thought I wanted to come and see you…" Sakuno said.

"Hm," Ryoma said.

Hari smiled amusedly as she listened and felt sorry for the girl. It could be though conversing with Ryoma, sometimes you really had to drag everything out of him. Especially if he wasn't really interested in the first place.

" _Ryo-chan, I'm done,"_ Hari said and saw the raised brow from him when she turned to look at him. Probably because she had switched back to English again. " _Do you want to play more?"_

" _Sure,"_ Ryoma said and opened the door accepting the racket from her. " _Don't have too much fun."_

" _Whatever do you mean, Ryo-chan?"_ Hari grinned.

He snorted and closed the door again.

" _Hello, Sakuno-chan,"_ Hari smiled at the girl who smiled timidly back. " _Nice seeing you again."_

Hari saw the concentration on her face as she tried to translate what Hari just had said and Hari smiled amusedly.

" _Hello, Potter-san,"_ Sakuno said.

Hari looked away from the shy girl and over at Ryoma who was hitting balls again. She saw how he had one leg planted on the ground and used the other to move back and forth given how the ball moved.

"Ooooh," Hari mumbled as she saw how he didn't move from the spot.

"Eto," Sakuno said breaking the silence and Hari glanced at her but saw her staring at Ryoma again. "Will I be a bother if I talk?"

"It's fine," Ryoma said.

"Ryoma-kun, why did you start playing tennis?" Sakuno asked.

Hari sat down on the ground as she waited for Ryoma to answer Sakuno. She wouldn't say anything as she found it too much fun to pretend that she didn't understand what the girl was saying.

"I forgot," Ryoma said making Hari snort silently.

"Huh?" Sakuno blinked.

"When I realised it…I was playing already," Ryoma said. "Even when I decided to quit I couldn't."

"Why?"

Hari knew why it was because he wanted to beat Nanjiro. Even when he was eight he had wanted to beat his dad, that was what he worked for after all.

"There is always an objective," Ryoma said.

He closed his eyes and even Hari arched a brow when she spotted his closed eyes when he turned around slightly. Was he really going to play with his eyes closed?

That was impressive; Hari smiled and heard Sakuno say his name like she couldn't really believe what she was seeing. Hari could understand why, though.

...

The three walked in silence toward the subway as the evening drew closer and Hari could tell that Sakuno was burning to ask something and was curious to see how long she managed to resist the need to ask. It was amusing to see how the younger girl would glance at Ryoma's back and then look away before she looked back once more.

"Ano, Ryoma-kun," Sakuno finally broke the silence.

"Huh?" Ryoma didn't look at her as he made the sound.

"Can I ask you what you meant with the objective you talked about before?" Sakuno asked.

Hari hid her smile. She had asked and now she was panicking. She saw how her eyes widened like she realised that she had asked him out loud.

"Ah, gomen ne," Sakuno hurriedly said. "If you don't want to answer that's fine…"

She sounded so lost and disappointed at the same time that Hari almost told Ryoma to answer her, but she refrained and she watched the two with a curious look. Sakuno was blushingly looking down as Ryoma started to cross the street.

"There's someone I want to beat up," Ryoma said. "I want to beat him with tennis."

Hari glanced over at Sakuno who looked shocked by that answer as she stared at him. She was easy to read, Hari thought amused. So much fun…

They waved goodbye to Sakuno at the subway before they started to make their way home as well.

"You answered more of her questions that I thought you would," Hari commented glancing at Ryoma.

He just shrugged and yawned.

"She seems like a good girl," Hari continued. "A little shy and nervous, though."

Ryoma nodded.

"Alright," Hari sighed, "you've used up your talking abilities for today, it seems."

He snorted but didn't say anything making her shake her head.

Hari smiled to herself as she walked beside Ryoma and felt happy to be there, and despite the angst, she had felt earlier when talking with his parents she felt better now with him and more at ease. It was strange how Ryoma managed to calm her thoughts and mind. Not even Ron or Hermione managed to get her to forget what she was worried about, and they were her best friends. Well, besides Ryoma.

That had her thinking about Ron and Hermione again and she wondered if they knew she was gone now. Had they tried writing her? Would she even get their letters if they tried writing? Would the owls manage to find her in Japan?

Well, they shouldn't know that she was gone yet. She had told her aunt to send a letter (that she had left behind before she left) at a certain date so she would hopefully have some time before Dumbledore or Fudge learned that she had left Britain. She wasn't sure if that would work, but she hoped it would.

She hadn't told Ron and Hermione because she worried that they might go to Dumbledore and she wouldn't risk it. She ignored the little voice in her mind that whispered that she hadn't told because she was hurt they hadn't written to her.

"Where are you going?" Ryoma suddenly asked and Hari noticed that he had grabbed her wrist.

"Um, to your place…" Hari blinked.

He arched a brow, "that's the wrong way."

Hari blinked again and looked around, "oh."

He shook his head and she smiled a little.

...

Hari scowled again as she stared at a wall and rubbed her head. Just why did she keep walking into walls at this place? She sighed as she turned around and walked back the way she had come, or thought she had come until she stared at some trees.

Finally, she saw the tennis courts in front of her and she saw the crowd standing by the fence watching the match going on, she spotted Sakuno standing with the other girl, Tomoka. The two journalists were also there and she remembered how Nanjiro had been laughing about something that had happened with them last night. Nanako had said they had come to interview him and that Nanjiro had played a match against Inoue.

She walked past them and the match they were watching as she looked for Ryoma and finally saw him on a different court seated on the bench getting ready.

"Ryo-chan!" Hari called ignoring the attention she brought upon herself with the call.

" _Hari, what are you doing here?"_ Ryoma asked.

" _I told you I would come and watch you play,"_ Hari smiled. " _I'm curious."_

Ryoma rolled his eyes but he nodded.

" _You ready?"_ Hari asked.

" _Of course,"_ Ryoma smiled.

Hari snorted and nodded, " _I don't know why I asked."_

Hari glanced to the side as a tall dark haired teen with glasses that hid his eyes entered the court with a racket under his left arm. He had regular clothes on and she would bet money on that this was Inui.

"Were you waiting?" Inui asked looking at Ryoma.

Ryoma didn't answer as he got up.

...

Hari stood just outside the wire fence watching as Ryoma played Inui. She frowned slightly as Inui took the third point going up to a 30-0 lead. She narrowed her eyes and watched as Inui was again at the right place to hit the ball back over at Ryoma's court.

40-0

"Ne, isn't Inui-sempai ready to hit as Ryoma returns?" one of the first years asked, Hari thought his name was Kato Kachiro. Since they were standing close by where Hari was standing she had no trouble hearing them.

"If you see it that way…" the taller one, Mizuno Katsuo, said.

"After all, Inui-sempai knew where Ryoma-kun will return the ball," Kachiro said.

"Is that possible?" Sakuno asked.

Hari admitted that the first year was most likely correct in his assumption. To believe that someone was able to read Ryoma that well…

"That's impossible!" The third boy, Horio Satoshi, protested loudly. "It's only a coincidence!"

"That is possible," a cool voice interrupted and Hari blinked when she noticed that one of the regulars had joined them and was now standing between where she was watching and the first years.

Hari looked at him from the corner of her eyes and saw how Fuji Shusuke was smiling and had his eyes closed, or seemingly closed, as he looked at the match.

"Inui knows where Echizen will hit the ball," Fuji said and Hari noticed how he slightly turned his head toward her but she refused to look at him or show that she had noticed the attention she was now given.

"Fuji-sempai is so cool!" Tomoka gushed. "Awesome!"

"As usual Inui is playing a perfect game," Fuji said still directed toward Hari who fought to keep her face blank as she watched Ryoma.

Hari frowned as she saw Ryoma barely managing to hit the ball but Inui turned his back as if he knew that the ball would not go over the net. He did know…

"Game won by Inui," the one who was refereeing the game called.

...

" _Do you think he will give up?"_ Fuji asked making Hari glance at him as he had come up close to her.

" _Ryo-chan doesn't know how to give up,"_ Hari smirked.

Fuji smile widens slightly as he turned his attention back to the game, but Hari wasn't fooled. She knew he was observing her as well, but she had no idea why he was or why he even bothered to do it.

"Game won by Inui," the referee called once more. "2-1."

Hari listened as Inui told Ryoma about his percentage of the moves Ryoma used and how he had figured out Ryoma's play. Hari knew that it was a challenge, but it wouldn't be that easy to cage Ryoma in and stop him from developing in the match.

A smile crossed her lips unaware of the eyes on her as she watched Ryoma.

"An irritating strategy," Ryoma said.

Hari snorted amusedly when Ryoma deliberately hit his serve at the net.

"Did you expect that serve?" Ryoma asked.

"I didn't expect the fault just now," Inui answered.

Hari heard Fuji laugh beside her and say something about Ryoma not wanting to lose. She smiled as she thought, of course, he doesn't.

...

Hari watched as Ryoma continued to struggle, but she saw the determination and will to overcome this in his eyes as he played. She mostly ignored the first years talking beside her and even Fuji though mostly because she felt him trying to get a response out of her or something. She wasn't going to respond.

More and more students showed up to watch as well, probably because the other games were ending.

"Mada mada dane," Ryoma called out just as Inui was walking away from him and Hari felt her lips twitch. "It was a good decision to come to Seigaku. Now I can beat all kinds of tennis players."

Hari smiled fully amused at his words. He really didn't know how to give up…

She arched a brow when she saw him start to jump slightly and saw the wary look on Inui's face as he took in the step.

"I learned a new step recently," Ryoma said. "I wanted to keep it secret and save it for Nationals, but…"

Amazed mutterings spread among the watchers and Hari looked forward to seeing this new step of his in action.

What a….cocky boy… Hari snorted as Ryoma told Inui where he was going to hit. Amused she chuckled out loud ignoring Fuji who glanced at her. Ryoma was amusing…

The flow of the game changed then and she could tell that Ryoma was getting the hang of this and Inui was now struggling because Ryoma had developed during the match and therefore putting his data out of use. Or something like that, Hari thought as she watched Ryoma win game after game.

4-4.

5-4.

Hari sweat dropped as she heard the childish (there was no other word for it) argument between the female journalist and Tomoka about Ryoma and something about calling him a prince. Seriously, what was with them? Especially the grown woman who was gushing over a 12-year-old boy… honestly, Hari found it creepy.

Hari watched as Ryoma used his twist serve and she smiled as she saw how perfect it was, she remembered how he had talked about wanting to be able to do it when he was eight. He had not yet managed to do it but he was practising very hard. A sense of pride filled her as she saw him performing the serve and how it went up toward Inui's glasses.

15-0.

The shocked gasps from the crowd filled the atmosphere around the match and Hari couldn't help but notice the excitement that grew with the first years as they stared at Ryoma. Hmm…Hari smiled slightly as she glanced at them, the three boys were pressed as close as they could get to the fence as they stared at Ryoma with expecting eyes, while Tomoka and Sakuno were hugging and jumping up and down cheering. Looks like Ryoma had some fans… how much fun she could have with this, Hari thought.

30-0.

Ryoma took the position to use another twist serve and Hari glanced at Inui who had a determined look on his face as he got ready. He knew what was coming, she was sure, but would he be able to counter it?

Hari watched as Inui took the step back and moved to get out of the way and have his racket ready to hit the ball but as the ball hit it was clear that it was harder than what he expected and he lost hold of the racket and it spun out of his hand.

40-0.

"If you're playing using your data…" Ryoma said. "…then I'll have to rise above your data."

Hari grinned at the cocky attitude Ryoma showed and saw that Inui was more amused than offended by it, she guessed that was lucky because she predicted that Ryoma would provoke a lot of players with his attitude as they met more players in the future.

"Mada mada dane," Ryoma smirked before he smashed the ball behind Inui who couldn't do anything by stare after the ball.

"Game set won by Echizen, 6-4," the referee called.

...

Hari smiled as she watched Ryoma talk with the first years who had immediately gathered around him as he stepped off the court (after Inui who had walked off muttering to himself about the game).

"He did it," Fuji commented and Hari almost responded before she remembered her prank.

Hari wondered about how loud someone could get and while she thought Ron and the twins were loud, they didn't really compare to these freshmen (especially Tomoka), Hari thought.

 **"** _ **A kiss between a unicorn and boggart are the answer to lives mysteries"**_ a cold voice hissed and Hari stumbled slightly as her mind processed the sentence and looked around to see Kaido, the one Ryoma had played before, glare at the freshmen. She stared wide-eyed at him feeling her face burn bright and warm making her force herself to look away. Just what did he say? Did he mean to say it and why didn't anyone react to him saying something so…stupid?

Blushing again she tried to get away from the attention from Fuji who had opened his eyes slightly as he looked at her, why did he keep looking at her? She walked away, she had to collect her thoughts.

She found a water station of a sort and leaned over it to splash some water on her face trying to calm herself down and cool off. Why did he have to say something like that? Did it mean…that he knew about magic? But…there was something not right about this. Something wasn't adding up in her mind.

After a while, she stood up again and dried the remaining water off her face sighing as she forced the strange sentence out of her mind and tried to think about something else…anything else… she shook her head and turned to go back to watch Ryoma play his next match.

He was already playing when she finally found her way back (seriously, this school was worse than Hogwarts with their maze-like paths) and saw the score was already 5-0 meaning he just had one game left before he won. She hadn't realised she had been gone for so long.

She paused at the fence and once more found herself close to the freshmen and Fuji was glancing over at her but this time didn't come over to her.

He won, of course, and Hari smiled refusing to look at where Kaido was standing.

"He's a regular!" she heard the freshmen boys cheer and Tomoka hugged Sakuno as they both cheered.

...

Hari stood beside Ryoma and watched as Inui lost his game against Kaido and Hari fought to not blush every time Kaido spoke.

 **"** _ **Eat slugs and kiss me, baby,"**_ again making Hari blush and almost choke.

Again she couldn't understand why no one reacted when he said so ridiculous things. She almost asked Ryoma but her embarrassment stopped her.

"Ochibi!"

Hari broke out of her puzzlement as the loud cheerful voice sounded and looked up in time to see Ryoma be attacked by the bouncy redhead called Kikumaru Eiji. Kikumaru was hugging Ryoma around the neck and Hari felt her lips twitched amused as she saw the annoyance in Ryoma's eyes yet also the resignation like he had tried before to get the overly excited teen to stop and failed.

"You're finally a regular!" Kikumaru beamed. "So fun, nya!"

"Eiji! He can't breathe!" Oishi fussed pulling at Kikumaru and true enough Ryoma gasped for breath the moment Kikumaru let go of him.

Ryoma glared at Hari who was laughing at him.

"Oh, your friend is here," Kikumaru said. " _Hello, nya!"_

" _Hi, how are you?"_ Hari asked politely with a small smile.

Kikumaru looked a little confused before he answered, " _fine. How are you?"_

" _I'm fine, thank you,"_ Hari answered.

The rest of the regulars plus Inui (who Hari guessed wasn't a regular anymore) joined them and Ryoma narrowed his eyes at them as he stepped up beside her still rubbing his throat.

"Isn't it about time to stop pretending?" Fuji spoke up breaking the silence that he fallen over them and the others glanced at him confused but he was staring at Hari with that smile of his and his eyes closed (didn't he need to open them to see?). "Eh, Potter-san?"

"What are you talking about, Fujiko-chan?" Kikumaru asked. "And why did you say it in Japanese?"

Hari noticed the others also looking confused and some like Kawamura got a thoughtful look on their face as they looked back at her.

"Shouldn't you speak English, Fuji-sempai?" Momoshiro asked frowning. "You know English."

Hari sighed inwardly; it looked like her prank had been discovered.

"I guess so," Hari said and they blinked as one staring at her. "How did you guess, Fuji-san?"

He smiled, "It looked like you understood what we were talking about during Echizen's match against Inui."

Hari shrugged, "sou ka?"

"You really can understand Japanese, nya?" Kikumaru exclaimed.

Hari nodded.

"Why didn't you say so?" Momoshiro whined. "I've been struggling to try to learn some English!"

Ryoma chuckled from his place next to her looking amused while Hari smirked slightly.

"It was fun," was all she said.

She laughed at the looks she got.

...

...

 **AN: What do you think?**

 **I have decided to have Hari and Ryoma as friends/siblings in this story.**

 **Thank you to those who left a review! I will take the votes/wishes for pairings into consideration when I (finally) manage to make a decision. There is still time to make suggestions, place votes or wishes. A) Fuji, S. B) Sanada, G. C) Yukimura, S. Who do you want to see Hari with? It will be one of them.**

 **Japanese words used:**  
 **Ohayo - good morning**  
 **Haaaa? - What**  
 **Nande? - Why**  
 **Ano - filler**  
 **Gomen ne - sorry**  
 **Sou ka - really? Is that so?**  
 **Sempai - upperclassman /a form of respect to students older than you**  
 **Eto - filler**


	4. A new family?

Italic ( _"like this"_ ) means it's spoken in English.

Bold type + italic ( _ **"like this"**_ ) means its spoken in Parseltongue.

Italic might also be used in flashbacks / or dreams but it will be made clear when it's dream or flashbacks...

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Prince of Tennis!**

 **...**

 **...**

 _Running._

 _Panting._

 _Splashing sounds as feet ran through the wet, cold floors in the large empty pipes. She was lost and she was breathing harshly. The breaths seemed so loud in her ears. Pant. Pant._

 _Swish, swish._

 _It was getting closer._

 _Closer…_

 _She had to get away. It would find her. She…_

" _Bwa-ha-ha!"_

 _Laughter echoed seemingly bouncing off the wet, dark walls._

 _Closer…_

" _It will get you, Potter!"_

 _Closer…_

 _She pressed herself against the cold wall praying to disappear._

 _Swish, swish, swish…_

 _Cold yellow eyes glared at her…._

Hari jerked awake all the way to a sitting position in her bed as her breathing came out in short pained breath and she felt her cheeks getting wet from both sweat and tears. Hari tried to inhaled and stop her speeding heart but the look of that being was like fixed into her brain and she couldn't breathe. She had to breathe…

Hari clutched the cover in her hands and the softness of the fabric actually served to calm her down a little, she stroked it as she realised that she wasn't there anymore. She was warm and she was safe. The fabric was soft and warm, not cold and wet like the concrete walls of the pipes. She managed to inhale deeply before letting it out in a relieved exhale.

A hand reached up and rubbed her eyes wiping away her tears against the back of her hand making her grimace at the disgusting feeling. She was relieved no one had entered her room during the nightmare because she honestly wasn't sure how she would have reacted, nor would she like that anyone saw her like this.

Forcing herself to get out of the warm and comfortable bed she stumbled slightly on her way to the bathroom. She cringed as she saw her too pale face with the seemingly too large green eyes staring back at her reflexion. Her eyes seemed puffy and red by the crying she had undoubtedly been doing in her sleep and her cheeks were filled with both wet and dried tear-tracks. Her few freckles seemed more prominent than they really were against her pale skin. Hari knew she was naturally pale, something she really hated, but her freckles were normally not that prominent.

She turned the sink on and cupped her hands to gather the water before she bowed down to let the water splash her face and she felt the coldness against her skin and shivered. It was an unpleasant reminder of her nightmare, but at the same time it woke her up a little more. Her hands moved to her hair that felt wet and disgusting from sweat.

She glanced at the clock and saw that it was nearly five in the morning. It really wasn't any point in trying to get any more sleep so she should just get ready for the day. With that thought, she undressed and jumped into the shower letting the warm water wash over her and bring the comfort that a warm shower could bring.

...

Hari walked back into the guest room she was sleeping in and closed the door behind her. She hesitated as she looked around the room, it was nice and better than the one she had with her aunt and uncle. For one, the furniture didn't look like it would break down at any moment. Nor was it filled with Dudley's broken toys.

She walked over to the window and pushed the curtains away as she looked out of the room, it was still dark out but she could see the small sign of light starting to show at the horizon. Her mind wasn't easily distracted anymore and she couldn't help but think back to the nightmare. She folded her arms around herself tightly as she repressed a shiver she told herself came from the cold ignoring that it really wasn't that cold in the room.

Why did she still have that nightmare? She didn't want to think about the incident that had almost killed her and her friends. She hated thinking about it, but her mind wouldn't let her forget it. Nearly every night did she have some part of a nightmare about it. While it varied in intensity it refused to let go.

She was letting him win by hanging on to it, Hari thought. She wasn't going to let him win… he was gone and he couldn't hurt her anymore. She knew that. But… what if… no, he was gone. She repeated it over and over to herself.

"He's gone, he's gone, he's gone…"

She couldn't stay still anymore, Hari had to get out. It was like the room was closing in on her and she felt trapped. She couldn't stay inside…she quickly changed into a pair of sweatpants and a little too large sweater both of them Ryoma's before she as quietly she could make her way out of the house.

The fresh air hit her and she felt a little better, her breathing came a little easier and she rolled her shoulders trying to relax. She started to jog down the street. It was something she had found out was helpful back at Hogwarts. To go out and run or jog as she processed the dream or when she was restless like she felt right now. It helped her and made her feel better.

It was Hermione who had suggested that she would go out and run for a bit after a nightmare if she couldn't shake it or get it to let go. She said it might help with some physical exercise and like normal she was right. Hari had stopped, well almost stopped, arguing with Hermione, realising that the other girl normally knew what she was talking about. Sometimes she went out and ran on her own but sometimes Ron or Hermione would come with her. They wouldn't force her to talk, but just be there.

Hari barely noticed that it was getting lighter out before she suddenly noticed that more people were starting to emerge on the streets. She glanced at the clock and saw that it was already seven thirty and she knew Ryoma would be up by now. She was unsure if they had noticed that she wasn't in her room anymore, but if they knew then they might be worried. She better go back.

Only…how did she get back? Hari frowned as she found herself at a crossroads and every house looked the same. Honestly, why did it have to look the same? What should she do now?

She walked around a little trying to find out what looked familiar, but she hadn't really paid any attention as she ran and now she wished she had. She might then have remembered something that was familiar to her.

"Eh? Potter-san?"

Hari glanced up tiredly having paused and was leaning against a wall when the voice interrupted her inner panic. She saw the dunk-kid, what was his name again…oh, Momoshiro, yeah, that was it. Anyway, Momoshiro was staring at her wide-eyed and he looked to have been out to run as well.

"Ah, Ryo-chan's friend," Hari said.

"Call me Momo-chan," he grinned easily, "but what are you doing here?"

Hari shrugged, "I went out for a run."

"Ok," Momoshiro frowned, "but…"

"I can't find the way back," Hari grumbled annoyed. "The streets here all look the same!"

Momoshiro looked way too amused to Hari's taste, but she guessed it was amusing for others but she just wanted to go back and rest. She felt tired now and hungry, surprisingly. Her energy was pretty low.

"I guess you would struggle when you're new here;" Momoshiro smiled. "Why don't you come inside for a moment and I'll show you the way back when I'm ready for school? I'm normally picking up Echizen on my way, so it wouldn't be any trouble."

Hari looked at him for a moment before she found that it really was the best solution, so she nodded and pushed away from the wall unable to hide the grimace that crossed her face.

"Are you alright, Potter-san?" Momoshiro asked.

"I'm fine," she said.

He looked a little unsure but nodded and let her dismiss the question like that. She was glad he didn't press it. She didn't feel like going into her problems with him or anyone, really.

"Ah, Takeshi," a woman said before stopping when she spotted Hari standing behind Momoshiro.

"This is a friend of Echizen," Momoshiro said when he saw where who Hari guessed to be his mother given the similarities was looking. "Potter Hari."

"Yoroshiku;" Hari bowed politely.

"Ah, nice to meet you too," the older woman said. "I'm Momoshiro Rio."

"She'll wait for me and I'll walk her back to Echizen's place," Momoshiro said.

Hari knew she was blushing as she once more explained that she was lost and the older woman smiled kindly at her and told her to come into the kitchen. Hari followed despite the uncomfortableness that had her really wanting to turn and flee. Momoshiro had run up the stairs to change leaving her alone with his mother.

Soon two younger kids entered the kitchen already dressed in their school uniforms and gave her curious looks. Momoshiro Rio introduced them as her two youngest children, Miku and Rin. Miku was a 7-year-old girl while Rin was a 9-year-old boy, both looking quite similar to their big brother, but didn't act as loud and boisterous as him.

"Here," Momoshiro Rio said and put a plate of food in front of Hari making her blink.

"Oh, um, thank you," Hari said shyly.

"You're welcome."

Hari watched as the family chatted and soon Momoshiro bounced into the kitchen again and quickly grabbed his food before plopping down on the free seat. He was talking to his younger siblings right away and had them laughing before Hari really understood why they did. She liked it, though. It was something about this family that reminded her of the Weasley's, only they weren't as many.

"Alright," Momoshiro said after gulping down his glass of milk. "Let's go."

Hari nodded and got to her feet. She turned toward Momoshiro Rio who was smiling at them.

"Thank you for the food," Hari bowed.

"It's no problem;" the woman smiled. "Come back anytime, Potter-san."

Hari smiled and wondered that she might just do that, but she wouldn't promise anything. She followed Momoshiro out and saw him grabbing the bike that was leaned against the house wall.

"Care to sit on the back?" Momoshiro asked looking at her.

Hari eyed it before she shrugged and nodded. She jumped on and held onto Momoshiro as he started to bike down the streets. She felt the wind against her face and the small thrill that came with the speed even though she wished he would go faster.

"Oy! Echizen!" Momoshiro called making Hari realised that they were back to where she was supposed to be.

She jumped off the bike and gave him a smile, "Arigatou, Momo-chan."

He grinned widely at her for some reason she couldn't understand but she just shrugged and turn toward the gate leading up to the house. She had barely opened the door when a slightly ruffled Ryoma exited.

"Hari!" He exclaimed when he saw her and she saw the many emotion that crossed his face. "You're back! Seriously, where did you go? Do you have any idea how worried I was? Gah, Hari!"

Hari grimaced guiltily, "I'm sorry, Ryo-chan."

He sighed and looked at her before he frowned, "what's wrong with you?"

"Nothing," Hari muttered.

He frowned at her again and well, Hari thought it looked more like a pout and he looked adorable like that, but she wisely didn't say anything. Hah, Hermione, look she does know when to keep her mouth shut, she thought.

"We'll talk later," he said, "I have to go to school. Oyaji and okaa-san are inside discussing where to start to look for you."

Hari almost wished she could go with Ryoma and Momoshiro (who was looking at them curiously), but she just nodded and waved at them. She sighed; this was not a good start on her day.

...

Hari sighed as she looked at the map, Rinko had told her to study it and that she had to learn how the neighbourhood looked if she was going to go out and run by herself. It wasn't like it was unreasonable of her to ask this, but Hari really didn't think it would help. The map was just as confusing as the actual roads.

"Hari-chan," a lazy teasing voice sounded and Hari looked up to see Nanjiro grinning down at her.

"Hai?" Hari looked at him.

"Come with me," he said and she gladly put the map away and got back to her feet to follow the older man out of the house and soon realised that they were headed for the shrine. She wondered why he had come back to the house to get her.

Rinko had left for work and Nanako had classes at her college so Hari had been on her own at the house, well besides Karupin. She smiled at how cute Ryoma's cat was, and she thought he was totally different from Crookshanks, who was not as friendly as Karupin.

"Here," Nanjiro interrupted her thoughts about Hermione's cat with pushing what Hari realised was a tennis racket into her hand. She blinked at it before looking back at the older man. "Let's play."

"I haven't really played much," Hari admitted.

"Ryoma said so," Nanjiro said, "but you'll pick it up again with practice. Furthermore…I'm bored and the brat is away at school so I don't have anyone else to play with."

Hari stare at him for a moment before she shrugged and walked over to the side of court she would use and saw the smirk on his face, she probably should be worried. He tossed the ball and served the ball toward her with a harsh and precise move causing the ball to fly past her without her having time to react. Yes…she definitely should be worried, but a smile was crossing her lips as she adjusted her grip on the racket and stared at Nanjiro.

"Just a wakeup call," he said. "What kind of handicap do you want?"

"None!" Hari said determinedly.

"Oh," Nanjiro smiled lazily. "Alright, if you are sure…"

Hari nodded knowing it was a bad choice, but she didn't feel right to play against him with a handicap. She wanted to test herself against him like Ryoma did.

Hari missed yet another ball and grumbled slightly as she pushed up from the dirt to glare determinedly at Nanjiro who looked entirely too relaxed on the other side of the net. She rolled her shoulder slightly as she got into position once more. She watched as he tossed the ball up and then hit it with his racket; she just managed to get her own racket up in time and felt the ball connect to the racket. She gritted her teeth when she felt it was harder than she thought, but she managed to hit the ball back.

Nanjiro hit the ball with ease and Hari ran to the other side to reach the ball before it went over the line, she reached it and managed to hit it back much to her surprise, but she did notice that Nanjiro didn't even move from his spot as he hit the ball again and this time she wasn't fast enough to hit it.

"One more time!" she said.

He smiled.

...

"You look like you've been run over," Ryoma's voice sounded making Hari open an eye to glare at him. She closed her eyes again and put an arm over her eyes and mumbled something.

"Sorry, I didn't catch that," Ryoma said.

"Your dad is trying to kill me," Hari muttered. "I'm sure of it."

Ryoma arched a brow, "oh?"

"Why didn't you say he was merciless when he plays tennis?" Hari whined.

She grimaced as she forced herself to sit up and felt the sore muscles and her arms felt like they would fall off.

"You already knew that" Ryoma pointed out sitting down at the free chair by her bed and she stuck out a tongue at him making him give her a look, "so mature, Hari."

"I thought so," Hari sniffed but her lips twitched. "You had fun at school?"

"Schools boring," Ryoma said, "but tennis practice was alright."

Hari snorted but nodded in understanding.

"So, what's wrong with you?" Ryoma asked bluntly.

Hari looked at him. "Why do you think something is wrong with me?"

"Hari," was all he said as he looked at her.

She rolled her shoulders and looked away from him. She didn't want to lie to him, but she wasn't sure she wanted to tell him either. She wasn't ready to talk to him about it because it meant that she would have to tell him about magic and what if he didn't react well?

"I'm not ready to talk about it, Ryo-chan," Hari said looking back at him to see the scowl on his face. "Please, just… give me some time."

He sighed but nodded. She smiled slightly and reached out to ruffle his hair making him lose his cap at the same time. He swatted her arm away with a glare and she couldn't help the laugh that escaped her as she saw his expression.

He did smile a little as he grabbed his cap once more from the floor and put it back on, she just smiled back at him and settled on the bed to talk more with her best friend. They had a lot to catch up on and in some way also get to know each other once more.

...

"Wow, look at you," Hari said when she saw Ryoma entering the house and wearing the white and blue jacket that signalled that he was part of the regulars. "Very handsome."

"Hari," he grumbled and Hari grinned as she saw him blush.

"You finally got your jacket," Hari said deciding to drop it right now as she took a closer look at her best friend wearing the regular jacket. It was something she knew meant more to him than he would admit and it did look very good at him. Perhaps a little big, but he would grow into it. "Congratulations."

"Thank you," Ryoma said smiling slightly.

"So, you've been a regular for a week now, right?" Hari said leaning against the table in the kitchen as he grabbed a glass of milk grumbling about Inui telling him to drink more milk.

"Shorty," Hari teased when she picked up on the grumble and laughed when he glared at her.

"You're not one to talk," Ryoma muttered.

"Perhaps," Hari smiled, "well? It's a week since you became a regular?"

"Yeah," Ryoma nodded.

"That means I've been here for nine or ten days already," Hari mused as she looked out of the window missing the way Ryoma looked at her. She sighed, "I wonder…"

She trailed off as she thought back to her friends at Hogwarts. Did they know she was gone now? Did they realise that she had left the Dursley's yet? She also thought it should be time for Hedwig to come soon; she was starting to get worried about her most faithful companion. It shouldn't take her that long to come to Japan, to find her. Had something happened to her? Hari really hoped not.

"It does seem longer than that," Ryoma commented effectively bringing her out of her mind once more. She looked back at him and smiled slightly, "I hope you'll stay."

Hari felt a warmth spread as he admitted to wanting her to stay. It had been good days for Hari, being here had her relaxed in a way she hadn't felt in what felt like years. Days spent around people who were genuinely interested in her and cared for her, while Ryoma was at school she would read in her magic books or play tennis with Nanjiro who was bored at the shrine. When Ryoma came back she would either watch him practice tennis or just talk with him, had him tell her about his tournaments in America before they moved back to Tokyo.

...

It was later that day that Rinko and Nanjiro once more asked her to join them in the office and this time Ryoma was home, but he didn't come with them. She pushed back the nerves as she followed them into the office and sat down once more.

"Don't look so scared, Hari-chan," Nanjiro teased. "We're not going to eat you."

He laughed and Hari smiled slightly before trying to relax.

"Hari-chan," Rinko started and leaned forward so she could look Hari in the eyes. "We've talked about it and I've done some research and given the situation and the recount of your life with your aunt and uncle we have looked into the option of adopting you."

Hari blinked and blinked as she stared at Rinko unable to form words as she opened and closed her mouth. They wanted to adopt her? Was that even possible?

"I know it's rather sudden and maybe also a little too fast," Rinko said, "but we do really want to have you in our family, Hari-chan. You've already settled into our daily routine and Ryoma is more open with you here."

"You…" Hari trailed off unsure and lost for words.

"I could use another tennis rival," Nanjiro added with a smirk.

"Dear," Rinko sighed exasperatedly.

"But…how…" Hari felt so confused and hopeful that she wasn't sure what to do with herself or who to look at. All she could think was that this had to be a dream. This couldn't be happening…

"I'm a lawyer, Hari-chan," Rinko reminded her kindly, "so I pulled some strings and I have the paperwork ready."

"So…" Hari blinked her hands fisted in her lap.

"If you agree then we would go ahead and put the paperwork forward and start the process of adopting you," Rinko said.

Hari felt her mind spinning as she looked between the Echizen's and tried to process the idea of being adopted by Ryoma's parents. That would mean that they would have a legal right to her and it would protect her against the Wizards should they find her, that had been something she had worried about.

"Would it be that easy?" Hari had to ask even as she feared the answer. Nothing in her life was that easy.

"Most likely," Rinko said. "I will go to England and meet your aunt and uncle, Hari-chan. If they sign the papers giving up their rights to you, then the adoption will go through without much resistance."

Hari felt a spark of hope, a stronger spark than before. Surely they would love to get rid of her and sign, right?

"If…if not...?" Hari asked.

Rinko got more serious and Hari saw her exchange a look with her husband who had been surprisingly silent as they had talked.

"Hari-chan," Rinko said, "I won't lie to you. If they refuse to sign the papers it will be more difficult. There are still options, but we will need you to tell us more about the treatment you received from them and put it in a lawsuit. You might also be required to testify against them in a court of law."

Hari swallowed and felt cold just at the thought of having to do that, she didn't want to. She didn't want everyone to know… She couldn't handle it.

"We'll deal with it if it happens, Hari-chan," Rinko said smiling at her reassuringly, "I will do my best to get them to sign the papers so it won't be necessary."

Hari nodded.

"So," Rinko suddenly looked a little nervous. "Do you want us to adopt you, Hari-chan?"

Hari stared at them unable to say anything as she did. It was so hard because of all the emotions going through her body as she realised that her dream, the thing she had always hoped for as she had been locked up in that cupboard was finally within reach. But…was it real? Did they really want her to join their family?

She had hoped they would let her stay when she got there, she had hoped that they wouldn't tell her to go back to England. Not in her wildest dreams or imaginations had she dared to even think about the possibility of them actually wanting to adopt her. Adoption was final, it was not something anyone would do easily or could change their mind about.

"You really want me?" she whispered unable to keep the burning question inside.

"Of course," Rinko smiled at her tears in her eyes. "You're a very special girl, Hari-chan."

Nanjiro nodded and smiled widely at her but didn't' say anything.

"And Ryo-chan…" Hari was scared he didn't want this, scared he would resent her for sharing his parents with her.

"He wants this too, Hari-chan," Nanjiro said. "We have already talked to him about it."

Hari stared at them for a long moment before she nodded her head slowly unable to keep the tear from dropping from her eyes.

"I want you to adopt me," Hari said.

...

Hari smiled softly to herself as she left the office unable to really believe what had just happened. Was it really true? They wanted to adopt her, the little-unwanted girl beneath the stairs. It was surreal and Hari couldn't wrap her mind around it, but she would do her best. She was going to do her best to be a good…what would she be to them? Daughter? Charge? Well, whatever she would be, she would be the best.

She went to find Ryoma, she had to see him. She had to tell him and see if he really was okay with it. If he wasn't okay with it, then she wouldn't do it. She entered his room to find him reading a book with Karupin curled up on the bed next to him.

"Ryo-chan," Hari called his attention her voice slightly uneven and he glanced up from his book. He immediately put it down and got to his feet. She didn't say anything as her words seemed to have disappeared again.

"Well?" he asked impatiently. "Did they ask you already or not?"

Hari snorted pulled out of her insecurities as he looked at her hopefully.

"They did," she nodded and smiled.

"Great! So, you're going to accept, right?" Ryoma asked, "because that would be the best choice! You're one of us already so, of course, you're going to become an Echizen!"

Hari laughed feeling relieved and rather stupid to have doubted how Ryoma would react.

"Of course," Hari grinned, "besides, you'll be my little brother for real then."

He blinked and then pouted, "Why do you have to be the oldest?"

Hari grabbed him in a headlock and ruffled his hair with her free hand even as he fought her hold, she felt so much better as she suddenly found herself wrestling with Ryoma. He somehow managed to make her lose her balance and fall down at the floor pulling him with her and they fell tangled together on the floor both of them laughing.

"You really sure you don't have a problem with your parents adopting me, Ryo-chan?" Hari asked when they calmed down and she sitting up on the floor.

"Baka," he said. "Of course I want that."

Hari smiled and before she could think about it anymore she hugged him, she didn't care that it meant that they fell back on the floor with Hari on top of Ryoma who hugged her back even as he grunted at the force she hit him with. She couldn't help the laugh that escaped her, even if it sounded suspiciously very much like a sob.

...

"So, you'll start Seigaku with Ryoma," Nanjiro said the next day and seeing that it was a Saturday Ryoma was standing beside her. "If there's not another school you rather want to go to, of course."

"No, I want to go to Seigaku," Hari said quickly. She couldn't even think about attending another school than the one Ryoma went to. She had come here to be closer to him after all. She glanced over at Ryoma who smiled but didn't say anything.

"That's great, because I have already talked to the school and registered you as one of their students," Nanjiro said without a trace of shame.

"Oyaji," Ryoma sighed.

"Brat," Nanjiro gave his son a look before looking back at Hari. "You start on Monday."

Hari inhaled deeply before she nodded trying to gather her thoughts and feelings about this, it was happening so fast. It felt almost unreal and unbelievable as she realised that she had already been registered for school. Oh, how was she supposed to be handling Muggle School? She was suddenly very happy she had joined Hermione in some of her individual studies for her muggle school back at Hogwarts. Hermione had said she didn't want to lose touch with the muggle world completely, and Hari had decided to join her. So, hopefully, that would be enough so that she had something to build on. Otherwise, she had no idea what to do.

Hari watched the school as Monday arrived and she sighed softly as she realised that this was really happening. She was starting Seigaku and Ryoma was just a few steps ahead of her with Momoshiro who had looked confused than happy when he realised that she was going to start school with them. He hadn't stopped chatting the whole way there and Hari kind of wished he would shut up so she could think, but on another note, the chatting was a welcomed distraction from her overly imaginary mind.

"Hari, come on," Ryoma called out impatiently and she took a deep breath before she walked up to her friend ready to start a new school. She could hope that this would be different from Hogwarts, right? Right. Of course, it would be. She was with Ryoma. Everything would be fine.

...

...

 **AN:** **About the adoption: I have no clue about how the legal aspects works or anything like that. So, this is just how I want it to go because it's a fanfiction and not real life. So, I make the decisions to make it easier for me as a writer. I'm sure that in real life it would be much more complicated and harder to do, but...this is the beauty of fiction. I can make decisions that fit my story. :)**

 **Japenese words used:**  
 **Yoroshiku - Nice to meet you**  
 **Arigatou - Thank you**  
 **Oyaji - Old man/ dad**  
 **Okaa-san - Mum**  
 **Hai - yes**  
 **Baka - stupid/ fool**


	5. First week at Seigaku

_**"Parseltongue"**_ **  
**  
 _"English"_  
 _-flashback or letter-_

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Prince of Tennis!**_

 _ **...**_

Hari followed behind the teacher that had introduced himself as Kawaguchi Kaede and would be her homeroom teacher. Hari guessed that meant that he was like McGonagall for her here, but he didn't look as strict as her. He was also considerably younger and looked to be just into his thirties.

"Wait here for a moment," he smiled at her making Hari nod as she paused just outside the door to the classroom for class 2-8. She could hear the chatter from inside the room die down as Kawaguchi cleared his throat to get their attention.

It was always scary to meet new people and she hoped that they would be nice, it sounded childish in her mind, but that was what she hoped for. Nice. She wasn't going to let them intimidate her, she told herself. She was going to get a fresh start and actually meet new people, Ryoma was somewhere in the building and she knew she could find him later. She wasn't alone even if she was in a different class.

Suddenly she was aware that the door opened and she saw Kawaguchi arch a brow at her and she realised she had spaced out and probably missed him calling for her.

"You ready?" he asked.

"Yes, sensei," Hari nodded and took a step into the classroom.

Hari looked at the class and saw that it was a mix of boys and girls and they were all looking at her curiously as she followed the teacher to the front.

"This is your new classmate, Echizen Hari," Kawaguchi introduced. "Echizen-san, why don't you tell the class something about yourself?"

Hari wondered if it was possible to get away with pranking the teacher as she inwardly winced at the request. She really didn't want to talk in front of that many people. She sighed before she bowed politely to the class.

"Hello, I'm Echizen Hari," she said calmly, "I'm 13 years old and just moved here from England. I'm not really that interesting, so… well, nice to meet you."

Hari looked up and saw Momoshiro grin at her but a confused look on his face as he looked at her had her realise that he did know her other last name and probably was confused to why she suddenly was called Echizen. She gave him a look and he nodded reading her 'I'll explain later' correctly.

She then noticed the other familiar person in the room and realised that Kaido was in this class as well, he looked like he was angry as he stared at her and she briefly wondered if she had offended him in some way before pushing the thought away.

"Well, Echizen-san," Kawaguchi said, "please take a seat next to Momoshiro-san."

Hari nodded before the teacher could ask Momoshiro to show who he was making some of the others to start to whisper as they looked at her.

"Echizen-san," Momoshiro grinned, "I think I have your name wrong."

Hari smiled back at him as she sat down in the free seat. "It changed."

Hari saw the considering look before she looked back at the teacher who called for attention again and started the lesson in literature.

...

Hari yawned and stretched as the day was over and she had gotten through the classes and survived. It felt good, but she really did need something to help her catch up to the curriculum because it was not anything she had been through before. It wasn't anything similar to what she had been taught at Hogwarts, and well, even if she had been attending a muggle school in England she would struggle because they were sure to have different classes. Hari sighed softly at the thought, but she was sure she would manage. Somehow. She always did.

"So, Echizen-san," Momoshiro said making her glance over at him to see the curious look on his face, she also noticed that Kaido had turned his attention toward her. She had managed to postpone their probing at the new name during the breaks and she knew that it was not likely to be able to avoid it anymore. It didn't mean she wouldn't…tease them, though. "What's with the name change?"

She shrugged and grabbed her bag before getting up.

"What are you talking about?" Hari smirked at him. "Name-change? I don't know what you mean."

He scowled and Hari turned to walk out of the classroom to find Ryoma and perhaps watch him as he practised tennis.

"Hey!" Hari yelped when she suddenly found her arm grabbed and then pulled at making her stumbled as she was forced to follow Momoshiro through the corridors.

 **"** _ **Rainbows and flowers is a great combination,"**_ Hari heard and almost lost her footing as she turned wide eyes to her left to see Kaido following with a scowl. Her mouth opened and closed as she again wondered what was wrong with him. Why did he go and say so…so random things? Rainbows and flowers? Seriously?

"Eh? Momo?"

"Wait, isn't that…"

Hari noticed some of Ryoma's friends from the tennis club, Kikumaru and Fuji she thought, as she was being dragged through the halls to wherever Momoshiro had decided to take her. She grumbled slightly but didn't try to break free from the hold on her arm as the two also joined them on their way to…wherever.

"Saa," Fuji said after a moment, "why are you pulling Potter-san after you like that?"

Momoshiro didn't answer as he stalked down the stairs making Hari yelp as she almost stumbled and lost her balance. She would have if not for Fuji who reached out to steady her. He smiled pleasantly with his eyes closed when she looked at him.

"Oi, Echizen!"

Hari heard a loud voice yell and glance over to see one of the first year boys with the unibrow point at her but look at who she realised was Ryoma over his shoulder. Ryoma who blinked and then had the nerve to look amused.

She also realised that they were on the tennis court and the rest of the regulars and most of the club was already there including an older woman in a pink training suit.

"Hari," Ryoma said looking at her then looking at Momoshiro who finally let go of her.

Hari scowled at him before she rushed over to Ryoma and placed him between herself and Momoshiro.

"Your teammate is scary, Ryo-chan," Hari whined dramatically, "he kidnapped me."

"I didn't kidnap you!" Momoshiro protested.

"You did," Kaido said.

"Eh, what did you say, mamushi?" Momoshiro growled turning to face Kaido who was already ready for a fight.

Ryoma glanced at Hari over his shoulder and arched a brow at her, "I thought you were supposed to be the older one?"

Hari stuck her tongue out at him but stepped out from behind him, "doesn't mean you shouldn't protect me against kidnapping peaches."

Ryoma snorted.

"Why did you drag Potter-san here, Momo?" Oishi asked with a worried frown.

Momoshiro and Kaido stopped arguing and turned toward them.

"And why is Potter-san wearing our school uniform, nya?" Kikumaru asked his head tilted to the side curiously.

Ryoma looked at Hari who just smiled innocently.

"Echizen-san," Momoshiro stressed the name, "started in our class today."

Hari almost laughed at the way the others blinked and turned to look at her eyes round and unbelieving as they did. She pushed away the unsettled feelings she got at being the centre of attention.

"Eh?"

"Echizen?!"

Hari heard Ryoma sigh and glanced at him to see the tired look on his face. She reached out to pinch his cheek. "Don't look like that, Ryo-chan! You'd think it was a bad thing."

He reached up and swatted her arm away before rubbing his cheek while glaring at her.

"I told you," Hari said looking over at Momoshiro, "it changed."

She paused.

"Or, it will change," she corrected, "so, to make it easier I just told the teacher to call me that."

"I'm confused," Kikumaru sighed with a pout.

"You're not the only one," Inui said while scribbling in his notebook. "As far as I know Echizen doesn't have a sister and there's nothing that indicates a cousin that's from England. He also clearly introduced her as his friend Potter Hari from Surrey, England."

Hari blinked at him.

"Do you make note of everything?" she asked curiously.

"Saa," Fuji spoke up still smiling and looked like this was an everyday occurrence. "Why don't you tell us what's going on, Potter-san?"

Hari scowled at him, "didn't I just say my name will change. I'm going to be Echizen Hari."

"But not yet," Fuji said.

Hari looked away from him and her eyes landed on the older woman who had been silent until now but she saw the calculating look in her eyes.

"Hari is getting adopted by my parents," Ryoma decided to explain and Hari felt a spark of warmth in her chest just hearing the words. "And that's why she's started Seigaku today as well."

"Really," Kawamura said his voice kind and Hari looked over at him to see him smiling at her looking sincerely interested.

"Hai," Hari nodded but didn't elaborate. She didn't feel like going into the details and she wasn't one to spill her secrets and home life to strangers. "So, Ryo-chan is my little brother now!"

"I'm not!" Ryoma protested.

"I'm the oldest, so you're my little brother," Hari grinned.

"That doesn't matter!" Ryoma pouted, um, glared. "I'm more mature."

"Shorty," Hari shot back, "I'm the oldest."

"I've never seen Ryoma-kun like that," Kachiro Kato commented to the other two first years. Hari could hear them, but she decided against saying anything about it.

"Huh," the woman said before smiling at her. "I'm Ryuzaki Sumire, the coach of Seigaku tennis club."

"Echizen Hari," Hari bowed, "nice to meet you."

"Nanjiro really adopted a kid," Ryuzaki said a little stunned. "Who would have guessed?"

Hari shrugged. She knew Nanjiro wasn't really the kind you would guess to adopt anyone, but he was a dedicated father whatever anyone else said. Hari knew he had given up on his first dream and was now focusing on his new dream that was Ryoma. Even if Ryoma tried to deny it.

"Why change the name?" Horio asked.

Hari glanced over at him before she shrugged carelessly as her mind went back to the day they talked about the adoption and the name had been brought up.

...

 _-Flashback-_

" _What do you want to do about your name, Hari?" Rinko asked._

" _My name?" Hari's brows furrowed confused._

" _Do you want to keep Potter or do you want to change it to Echizen?" Rinko clarified. "You can legally change your name when you're adopted. We will understand if you wish to keep Potter, but you're welcome to change it to Echizen as well."_

 _Hari blinked and looked at Rinko before looking over at Nanjiro who was grinning at her._

" _I…" Hari frowned slightly. Did she want to change her name? Potter was her parents' name and it was a connection to them. Should she keep it as a sign of respect to them? They did die to save her, and Hari would always respect their sacrifice and look up to them for that. Though, changing her name didn't really mean she wouldn't feel the same for her parents because of it._

 _Changing her name would give her a fresh start and she would be seen as one of them, she wanted that. She wanted to be part of that family and that meant sharing the name, right? Would her parents resent her for wanting to change her name? Would they understand?_

" _I want to change my name," Hari said determinedly and looked up to meet their eyes._

 _-End flashback-_

 _..._

Hari knew she had made the right decision. She had thought about it a lot since then and she also realised something she hadn't thought about when she had made the decision. She would gain more protection against the wizarding world. They would be looking for a Potter, not an Echizen.

"Why not," Hari said.

She walked to the side and stood outside the fence when Ryuzaki called for the practice to start again. She met Ryoma's eyes and shook her eyes when she saw the question in them, she wouldn't join them. Not right away because she wasn't ready yet.

Watching them practice was really an eye opener for Hari. They really gave their all and she felt determined as she saw the skills in each of the regulars. It was clear that they were very good and she wanted to get to their level. The feeling of excitement and determination filled her as she watched Fuji calmly return a ball against one of the non-regulars making him gape.

...

Hari walked away from the practice and made her way to the place where she had gone with Ryoma to play tennis before. She wanted to play, she wanted to hold a racket and feel the ball bounce off it. She was slightly surprised when she actually found the place only getting lost once.

She rented a court and a racket before walking to the assigned place and opened the door and stepping into the court. She remembered Ryoma showing her how the machine worked and put the coins into the slot before taking her place.

The first ball came and she swung her racket hitting the ball and watched as it bounced off the wall. She continued and did it over and over and over and over again.

Her shirt was getting wet with sweat and she wiped her brow with the back of her hand as she breathed hard, but she still kept hitting the balls that came flying at her.

Finally, the machine stopped and she sat down on the court feeling her breath coming out quickly and stared at the many balls surrounding her on the court. She blinked because it was much more than she thought and she groaned at the thought of having to put the balls back.

She got up and started to gather the balls as she thought about the changes in her life, and she really hadn't predicted that her life would change this much by leaving to see Ryoma. She knew that Rinko probably would meet eagerness from the Dursley's at the prospect of getting rid of her for good, and in some way, Hari did feel bad about that. Petunia was her mum's sister and it hurt to know that she didn't want anything to do with Hari, Lily's daughter, though, for the most part, Hari felt relieved just thinking about the chance to be free from them and actually have a chance of a new family.

...

Hari watched Ryoma play with Nanjiro at the same time she was reading the book she had been told to read by Kawaguchi-sensei. Yet, her attention was often drawn from the book to Ryoma's struggle against his father who didn't even look to be affected by the match.

"Where did you go today, Hari?" Ryoma asked bringing Hari's attention back from the book.

"Hm?" Hari blinked.

"You disappeared from watching us practice," Ryoma said and Hari realised he had stopped playing and both he and Nanjiro was looking at her now.

"Oh," Hari said. "Well, I just took a walk."

"A walk," Ryoma looked as disbelieving as he sounded.

"Yes, you know, putting a foot in front of the other," Hari said with a smirk, "that kind of walk."

Nanjiro laughed and ruffled Ryoma's hair before doing the same to Hari who grumbled.

"I know you didn't just go for a walk," Ryoma gave her a look as he dodged Nanjiro's arm. "So, where did you go?"

"I went to practice tennis," Hari sighed knowing better than to lie to him. "I went to that practice court we went to last time."

"Oh," Ryoma said. "You could have joined us at school."

"I'm not part of the Tennis Club," Hari shrugged.

"Then join," Ryoma said.

"I will, but not yet," Hari said and smiled at him when he frowned. "I just want to get better first and get used to being here before I join anything."

"Ok," Ryoma sighed.

...

"Good job, Ryo-chan," Hari smiled and tipped his cap down into his eyes.

"Hari," he whined and she grinned.

Hari had watched the regulars' practice again feeling the intensity in their play and realised that she had a lot to work on to get to that point where she was ready to join the Tennis Club, even if it was the girls she would have to join. She hadn't really watched them play because she liked watching Ryoma much better, but she was sure they were good as well.

"Ah, Echizen," both Hari and Ryoma turned toward the speaker who turned out to be Momoshiro.

He blinked before laughing.

"I think we need to do something about that," he said and the others behind him nodded.

"Call me Hari," Hari said with a shrug, "I'm used to being called by my first name."

"Saa, Hari-chan," Fuji smiled. "You're back watching Echizen play tennis?"

"Yup," Hari nodded, "I always liked watching Ryo-chan play tennis."

"She did," Ryoma nodded.

Just then Hari caught sight of something white coming flying toward her and before she could really blink she was being bombarded by a white owl. She stumbled back slightly as she ducked and turned to look for the snow-owl that came back toward her.

"Oy! Watch out!"

"Is that an owl, nya?"

"Saa…"

Hari held out her arm and smiled when Hedwig landed on her shoulder making Hari lower her arm as she felt the talons dig into her shoulder perhaps a little harder than normal. She then started to nibble at Hari's loose strands of hair and make soft cooing sounds.

"Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Hari heard Momoshiro ask.

"Burning! An owl!" Kawamura suddenly yelled startling both Hari and Hedwig (who gave a startled cry) making Hari wince as it was directly into her ear, and look over at the third year. Ah, he had a tennis racket in his hand (who had given him that?) and that explained the yelling. Hari did find it fascinating to watch how he changes personality by holding a racket.

"Nya, nya!" Kikumaru jumped up and down, "I've never seen an owl up close before, nya! So, cool!"

Hari saw that Fuji's eyes were actually opened revealing beautiful blue eyes as he stared at Hedwig. Wait, why did she think beautiful…quickly she pushed the thought away and assured herself that it was just shock of actually seeing a response from the boy that had her think that.

Even Tezuka blinked a few times as he watched rather stoically from his spot beside Oishi who looked fascinated and like he wanted to start fussing over something, but Hari wasn't sure what.

Kaido looked like his scowling self, but Hari could see a spark of interest in his eyes as he stared at Hedwig.

"Ah," Hari smiled reaching up to stroke her white feathers. "This is Hedwig."

"Hedwig?" Momoshiro repeated. "It's yours?"

Hari frowned at him as Hedwig gave an offended squeal, "Hedwig is a girl, just so you know, and yeah, she's mine. She was a present from a friend when I turned 11. She's been with me ever since."

Ryoma hadn't said anything and Hari glanced at him to see him blink and stare at Hedwig who turned back to stare at him with her yellow eyes.

"Saa, why are Echizen looking like he never seen her before?" Fuji asked.

"Because I haven't;" Ryoma said without taking his eyes off Hedwig.

"No, when I left Surrey I told her to come to find me in Tokyo," Hari explained. "So, she's been making her own way here."

Hari noticed the letter tied to her leg and reached out to take it, she ignored the looks she got and smiled at Hedwig as she took the letter from her.

"I will get you a snack soon," Hari promised her friend.

"You mean she just found you…on her own," Kikumaru asked.

"Yes," Hari looked at him briefly, "she's good like that."

"Good data," Inui was muttering making Hari wonder what he possibly could need this data for, but she let it go.

"And…is that a letter?" Kawamura asked carefully and she noticed that he hadn't the racket anymore.

"It is," Hari nodded, "she's good at carrying letters."

"Strange…" Momoshiro and Kikumaru both blinked at the same time.

Hari shrugged knowing it was strange for muggles, but she wasn't going to say anything more about it. She couldn't really say anything else, so she just had to let them think it was strange.

"Can I pet her?" Kikumaru bounced over barely looking like he managed to contain himself from reaching out to touch her.

Hari glanced at Hedwig who was now looking at Kikumaru with her sharp yellow eyes. Hari nodded and Kikumaru reached out and laughed delightfully when he touched the white feathers.

"So soft, nya," he exclaimed. "You're beautiful, Fukuro-chan."

Hedwig preened making Hari chuckle.

...

To say that Nanjiro was surprised when he saw Hedwig for the first time was not an understatement, Hari wasn't sure he would find his voice again at all the amount of times he opened and closed it. Nanako had blinked then smiled cooing over how pretty Hedwig was making Hedwig preen proudly.

Hari was a little nervous about the reaction to Nanjiro because she didn't know what to do if he said she couldn't keep her. Hari couldn't lose Hedwig, and she would hate to have to decide against the adoption because of this. Luckily Nanjiro had said it was okay for her to keep Hedwig as long as she was the one to take care of her (like anything else had been an option).

Though, there was another issue that came back at her for full seeing Hedwig resting on her perch in her room later that night. Magic. More precisely her magic. She would need to tell them about her magic if they were really going to adopt her.

"What should I do, Hedwig?" Hari mumbled making Hedwig open one eye to look at her. Hari couldn't help the smile as she felt better just being able to talk to Hedwig again. "How can I tell them? What if they react like aunt Petunia and uncle Vernon?"

It was a deep worry she felt as she sat on the bed. Hedwig cooed and Hari looked up to see Hedwig flap her wing toward the desk and she looked to see the letter Hedwig had brought with her. She had forgotten about that.

Opening the letter she saw unfamiliar scribbles and her hope that it was from Ron or Hermione fell away. She glanced at the bottom of the page and blinked. Sirius. It was from Sirius.

"You saw Sirius, Hedwig?" Hari murmured.

Settling back on the bed she read the letter.

...

 _-Letter-_

 _Hi Hari,_

 _I'm sorry we didn't get to spend more time together before I had to flee, Hari. I would have loved the chance to get to know you again. I loved seeing you and just get to talk to you once. I often told myself that I would accept anything if I could just talk to you, just hold you once. But, who could know that just talking to you once I want to talk to you even more? I wish… Okay, it's probably not good to dwell on wishes and dreams. That's something Dumbledore would say at least. Who knows, perhaps he's wrong this time?_

 _I got a hold of a paper and saw…I have no words, Hari. I am so sorry for the trouble you're in and I wished I could do something about it. I almost turned myself in to get your name cleared, but then I realised that it wouldn't have done anything good. They wouldn't believe me. You must hate me now, I'm sure. I keep failing you as your godfather, Hari. I can only hope that you will find your happiness somewhere out there one day and that I might get a chance to see you once more. One day I would really like to tell you about your dad and mum, Hari. Tell you about the best friends I ever had._

 _Remus is alright, I know you're probably worried about the old wolf. He is back at the cottage and resting after the full moon. He's sorry about what has transpired as well, Hari. He tried talking to Dumbledore and even Fudge, but they wouldn't listen. Or Fudge wouldn't. Dumbledore believes you, but his hands are tied. He can't do anything about it._

 _I have gotten out of Britain now and am…safe. I will travel and see the world, but I wish I could be with you in England. I wish I could offer you the home like we talked about. I wished I could be there for you like I should. Like I owe James._

 _I know James and Lily would be so proud of you, Hari. I know I told you when I saw you but you really do look a lot like them and have so much of them inside of you. Remember that those who really love you never really leave. They're right there, Hari, inside of your heart._

 _I have to go. I take it this owl is yours; I've seen her with you before when I watched you (as Padfoot) on the grounds of Hogwarts with your two friends, Ron and Hermione. Tell them hi from me, ok? They're good friends to have, Hari._

 _Love,_

 _Sirius._

 _-End letter-_

 _..._

Hari wasn't sure what she felt having read the letter. While he did sound concerned and she was sure he did care about her at least in some way, but…she couldn't shake the feeling that he really only saw James in her. Though, could she blame him? He had spent 12 years in Azkaban and Remus had said that the place was horrible and those Dementors… She shuddered just thinking about the Dementors and the memories they brought with them.

" _Not Hari, not Hari… show mercy…"_ the echo rang in her ears and she gritted her teeth as she tried to force it out. She got to her feet and slammed her hand against her desk wincing as the pain registered.

"Hari!" Ryoma knocked on the door before opening it. "What's going on?!"

Hari blinked looking at him before his question registered in her mind and she looked down at her hand.

"I just knocked it against the desk," Hari said as calmly as she could. "It's nothing, Ryo-chan."

He frowned at her but much to her relief he didn't ask anything more even if he knew she wasn't telling the truth. She just wasn't ready to talk about it, at least not yet.

"Meow," Karupin entered the room looking at them before his blue eyes landed on Hedwig.

Hari glanced at Hedwig who was staring down at Karupin without blinking who was giving Hedwig the same look. Hedwig puffed out her chest and screeched slightly.

"Meow-ow," Karupin tilted his head.

Hedwig settled and gave what could only be described as a royal nod before turning back to her slumber.

"I guess that's that," Hari blinked.

"Huh," Ryoma agreed.

Hari shook her head at the strangeness of Hedwig; you really would think she was some sort of queen. But Hari loved her anyway.

...

"Rinko is coming back tomorrow," Nanjiro said one morning and Hari looked up from her breakfast to look at Nanjiro. He was reading but glanced over at her with a kind smile when he saw the look on her face. "She'll have the paperwork then, Hari-chan."

Hari smiled before looking down at her plate feeling her heart beat harder in her chest. She would have to tell them before they signed any papers, she told herself. She had to. Nothing good would come of hiding it and she really should have told them before Rinko left for England, but… she had backed out and she hated feeling like a coward. She was a Gryffindor and it was time she acted like one.

A hand went up to her forehead where her scar was. Perhaps they wouldn't care about her scar or her magic? Perhaps… she felt hope.

...

 **AN: What do you think?**

 **I have now caught up with the chapters posted at AO3, meaning that it will be longer between updates, unfortunately. I will try to have a new chapter ready as fast as I can.**

 **To those of you who left a review: thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review! It means a lot and helps to keep me motivated. I have left a PM to those of you who have an account and open for PM. I will take your votes into consideration when I make my decision on the pairing. :)**

 **Still, time to let me know what pairing you vote for! Fuji, Sanada or Yukimura? :)**

 **Thank you for reading!**

 **Japanese words used:**  
 **Sensei - teacher**  
 **Saa - filler**  
 **Mamushi - viper**  
 **Hai - yes**  
 **Fukuro - owl**


	6. Magic is real

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Prince of Tennis!**

 **...**

 _letter or English_  
 **"Parseltongue"**

 **...**

 **...**

Hari paced her room unable to sleep as her mind refused to shut off and let her rest. Hedwig was out hunting for the night and she wished her owl would come back soon so she had some company. Hari knew she had to tell the Echizen's about her magic and she had to do it before the adoption was formalized.

But what if they changed their minds? What if they agreed with her aunt and uncle? Was it possible for them to think that she was a freak as well?

 _Freak!_

 _That's your fault, freak!_

 _Unnatural girl, always causing problems…_

The voices of her relatives echoed in the night and she couldn't shut them up. She fisted her hands as she sat down on the floor, her back pressed against the wall underneath the open window making her feel the cool nightly breeze that came into the room. She pulled her legs up to her chest and hugged them close to her body.

"I have to tell them," she whispered out loud.

She owed them to tell them the truth and hope that they wouldn't turn on her or think that she was a freak like her aunt and uncle did. She couldn't risk that they found out later and then be stuck in a situation like she had been in with the Dursley's. She couldn't live like that again. If…if they reacted badly she would still be able to leave and hopefully find another way to live.

Hari sighed and buried her face in her knees repressing the need to let her tears escape. She hated to cry, she felt so…weak and helpless. She hated that and she wished she could just let it go. Her stomach felt like it was in heavy knots that had rocks tied to them weighing her down.

"Why do I have to tell them? Couldn't I just stop doing magic?" Hari asked herself.

No, she couldn't. She remembered her lessons at Hogwarts and how they explained that training your magic was essential and very important to not hurting yourself or others. McGonagall had been very strict when she explained the consequences and Hari would hate if she lost control of her magic and hurt someone else because of it. So, she knew logically that she couldn't pretend her magic didn't exist. But…it was so tempting to just take the chance and hope for the best.

She almost felt the need to scoff at herself. Right, hope for the best. With her luck, she would lose control and hurt Ryoma and that was something she never wanted to do. Just the thought of her hurting her hopefully-soon-to-be little brother had her cringing and bursts of new determination to tell them to come to life inside of her.

Exhausted Hari finally managed to crawl to the bed and fall asleep.

...

The next day was slow and long for Hari who had slept poorly and had a night filled with nightmares when she had finally fallen asleep. She could honestly say that she didn't remember much of her day at school other than false laughs and smiles to her new classmates. She had skipped going to watch Ryoma practice tennis in favour of going home early hoping to have some time to gather her thoughts before having to tell them about her magic.

Rinko would be home today and she knew that meant that they would talk more about the adoption. Ryoma had already talked about it before school and he had looked uncharacteristically cheerful about the thought. Hari wanted to feel the same, and in many ways she did but she felt like she had a hippogriff on her chest and rocks in her stomach. The reality was getting closer and she worried.

"Potter-san," a voice said and Hari froze.

A man in a cloak was standing in front of her and she felt her heart beat harder and hands sweating. He was clearly a wizard, but he was also clearly Japanese. How had he found her and what did he want? Should she try to run?

"Who are you?" Hari managed to ask without revealing her fear.

"I'm Hisakawa Takuya," he introduced himself. "I'm with the Magical Department of Child Services here in Japan."

Hari swallowed and forced herself to calm down with much effort.

"And…how did you find me?" Hari asked.

He smiled kindly, "why don't we find someplace where we can talk, Potter-san?"

Hari wanted to refuse, but she knew it wasn't a good idea so she nodded. They found a small coffee place that looked quiet and she noticed that the man took out his wand and cast a few spells.

"Charms to give us privacy," he explained when he saw her wary look.

"Ok," Hari nodded, "what do you want, Hisakawa-san?"

He looked calm and was still smiling but Hari shifted in her seat as he took a sip of his coffee before he lowered the cup.

"It has come to our attention that you're in the process of getting adopted, Potter-san," he said.

Hari stilled even more and felt how her shoulders tensed almost so much that it hurt. Her eyes flickered to the door before looking back at the man in front of her.

"No need to look so scared, Potter-san," he said calmly.

"What do you want?" she pressed out. "Why are you here?"

"As a magical citizen you fall under the magical world, Potter-san," he said glancing up at her.

"I'm choosing to leave the magical world, Hisakawa-san," Hari gritted out her nails digging into her palms as she tried to remain calm.

"We gathered that" he frowned turning serious.

"How come you even knew I was here?" Hari asked worried that the magical world in Britain would find her as well.

"We knew the moment you arrived, Potter-san," he said calmly once more.

Hari blinked and frowned, "and how did you know that I was getting adopted?"

He smiled taking one more sip of his coffee.

"Drink your tea, Potter-san," he pointed to the tea, "it's delicious!"

Hari scowled but she took a sip of the tea and had to admit that it was good.

"The magical community works slightly different here in Japan than in Europe," Hisakawa started to explain. "We have a closer cooperation between the magical world and the muggle world. We work together with the muggle government in the way that we also have an eye on those who enter our country. We picked up on your arrival, but since you stated in your papers that you were here visiting a friend we let it be."

Hari frowned, she hadn't known that.

"Then we picked up on papers about an adoption earlier today and we decided that we needed to talk to you to find out more about the situation," he continued. "So, here I am."

Hari relaxed slightly but not much as she eyed him warily. She was still feeling on edge.

"Will you stop the adoption?" she asked.

He tilted his head slightly to the side as he looked at her. She felt like he was looking straight through her and she had to work to remain silent.

"Why do you wish to get adopted, Potter-san?" he asked seriously. "We are very familiar with your story even here, Potter-san. You're famous and leaving the magical world will not be easy. Especially for you."

Hari scowled at him making him blink.

"That's why," she said, "I hate only being seen for the Girl-Who-Lived! No one sees me as me in the magical world. Only a few friends back at Hogwarts took the time to get to know the girl underneath the mask. In the muggle world, I can be Hari Potter and not the hero they decide I have to be."

He hummed and tapped his fingers on the table as he clearly thought about what she said. She looked away from him and gritted her teeth together annoyed that she had slipped and said that much.

"I see," he murmured. "Still doesn't explain the wish to get adopted."

Hari knew she would have to tell him if she would have any chance to get adopted at all. So she told him the essential about her relatives back in England and how Rinko and Nanjiro had offered to adopt her.

...

It was late and almost time for dinner when Hari finally was on her way back toward the shrine having finished her meeting with Hisakawa Takuya. He had listened to her and got a thoughtful look on his face as he watched her making her even more nervous. He had agreed to help her, though, and said that the adoption would go through. He had just wanted to talk to her to get her side of the case before they approved it as well.

Hari wasn't sure she felt relieved or disappointed when he said that she needed to tell them about magic (even if she had already planned on doing so). He said he would come and see them the next day and talk more about the magic and what they would do from then on. She had some options to consider, according to him.

"Hari!"

A hand grabbed her arm startling her out of her thoughts as she turned to see Ryoma staring at her with an arched brow.

"Where are you going?" he asked. "You're walking the wrong way!"

Hari blinked and looked around before frowning. She hadn't noticed. She sighed.

"What's up with you, Hari?" Ryoma frowned.

Hari just shook her head, "you'll see, Ryo-chan."

He frowned again but remained silent as he walked back the street he had come from, he must have seen her on his way back from practice and run to catch up with her to stop her from walking wrong once more.

They arrived back at the house and Hari inhaled pushing her nerves away the best she could as she followed Ryoma inside.

"Tadaima," Ryoma called.

"Okaeri," Rinko greeted them with a smile from the doorway leading to the kitchen.

...

"Let's talk," Rinko said when they had finished dinner and they all were gathered in the living room. "

"How did your talk with aunt Petunia and uncle Vernon go, Rinko-san?" Hari forced her voice to sound calm as she asked.

Rinko scowled slightly before she schooled her expression once more before looking at Hari. There was something in her eyes that had Hari frown, why did she look at her like that? Like she knew something?

"They agreed to sign the adoption papers, Hari-chan," Rinko said bluntly but with a smile. "The only thing needed now is our signature and then we'll file the papers and you're ours."

Hari blinked and her chest swelled with happiness before as she watched Rinko pull out the papers. Hari looked at it and saw the signature of a Petunia Dursley and Vernon Dursley at the bottom of the page in neat letters.

They had really thrown her away, Hari thought. A small part of her felt hurt that they could so easily do it, but the largest part felt happy and hopeful. She had a chance!

"I thought we could sign it in front of the whole family," Rinko smiled.

Hari fisted her hands as she stared at the pen and the paper lying on the table ready to be signed and make her officially a part of their family. It was what she wanted more than anything. As long as she could remember she had dreamed of being a part of a proper family and now after all this time it was finally within her reach.

"Wait," Hari forced herself to speak when Nanjiro reached for the pen.

He paused and looked at her with a curious look on his face.

"Hari-chan?" he asked.

Hari swallowed and looked down on her clenched hands that were resting in her lap.

"Hari?" Ryoma frowned.

"I…" how was she supposed to say it? Her words wouldn't come out and she felt cold and warm all at once.

"Hari-chan?" Rinko's warm voice had her look up. "What is it?"

"I have to tell you something before…" Hari whispered.

"You could do that after we have signed," Nanjiro said.

Hari shook her head.

"No, I can't," Hari said, "I have to say it now."

They exchanged looks before they nodded and Nanjiro lets go of the pen again. Hari inhaled deeply knowing it was time and that she had to say it.

"Alright," Hari cleared her throat. When did it become so tight? "I have to confess something and…it might have you change your mind about adopting me, but…you have to know before…before you do it."

"What is it?" Ryoma asked. "They won't change their minds, Hari."

Hari glanced at him and saw the confusion on his face, but she refused to let it comfort her. She took a deep breath and looked from one to the other and saw they all look confused and worried.

"I know it's a shock and a lot to take in," Hari started, "but I don't really know any other way to say this than to just say it. So,…here it goes…Magic is real and I'm a witch."

The words were out and she had said it. She tensed waiting for them to say something, but nothing came out and she dared to look up and found them staring at her with mouth opened. If she hadn't been so nervous and scared she would have found it more amusing that both Ryoma and Nanjiro resembled a cat with their shocked expressions.

"That's not a prank, is it?" Ryoma asked.

Hari sighed but shook her head before looking down.

"No," she whispered. "I'm telling the truth. Magic is real and the school I went to in Scotland was a magic schooled called Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

She wished they would say something. Her eyes flickered over them again before she looked over to the window when Hedwig came flying in through the open door that led to the garden outside. Hedwig settled on her shoulder and nibbled at her hair.

"Here," Hari said and pulled out something she had prepared to prove that magic was real since she couldn't use magic at the moment. "It's my photo album."

She opened the album and revealed a photo of her with her parents. She saw their eyes widen as they stared at the photo as it moved. She was being carried by her dad who smiled proudly at the camera while her mum alternated between kissing her hand and waving it at the camera.

"It's moving," Nanjiro stated.

"All magical photos are moving," Hari said.

Nanjiro poked the photo and James and Lily both moved out of the way before scowling up him. Nanjiro suddenly grinned and poked it again. James waved a hand as of trying to guard off a fly making Nanjiro laugh.

"Cool," Ryoma said. "That's your parents?"

Hari felt her breath hitch as she looked at her friend who was staring fascinated at the photo. He glanced up at her and blinked at her.

"Yes," she nodded, "that's them, James and Lily Potter."

"You resembled them both," Rinko said kindly.

So, where was the big reaction to her magic? She looked at them with a confused frown as she waited for them to do something, like yell at her or tell that she was a freak or something. But they just kept looking at the picture clearly finding it fascinating.

"That's it?" she had to ask. "You're not…you're not throwing me out?"

"Eh?" Nanjiro blinked finally looking up from the picture and stopped poking it to look at her. "Why?"

"Well…"

"Magic doesn't change anything, Hari-chan," Rinko said kindly reaching out to squeeze her hand. "We still want to adopt you."

"What are you talking about?!" Nanjiro exclaimed loudly, "why wouldn't we want to adopt you? Nonsense!"

"Urusai, Oyaji," Ryoma scowled before he looked at Hari and smiled his special smile.

Hari felt warm and happy and couldn't stop the relieved smile that crossed her face as she realised that they weren't going to change their mind. There was a part of her that struggled to actually believe that they could react this calmly, but…they were. She looked at Ryoma who still smiled and realised that he wouldn't smile like that to her if he was scared or thought she was a freak.

She smiled as her tension left her and she felt relaxed for the first time in days and suddenly wondered why she had been so worried about how they would react to her magic? They had never given her a reason to do so.

She smiled as Nanjiro reached for the pen and signed the paper before giving the pen to Rinko who did the same. Then she signed the forms she needed to so she could change her name and officially become Echizen Hari.

...

The next day was a Saturday meaning that they didn't have school and Hari spent the first part of the day playing tennis with Ryoma. She pushed herself to get better and grow as a tennis player. Given his instruction, she practised the swing by swinging the racket more times than she could count and until her arm felt like it was going to fall off.

Ryoma smiled as he watched her and she took comfort in knowing he was there even if he sometimes would tease her.

"Are you really okay with all of this, Ryo-chan?" Hari asked when she was sitting down breathing harder.

"Yes," he said short but blunt.

She huffed, "glad to hear that you can talk."

He smiled slightly making her smile back and fell back so she was lying on her back staring up at the blue sky and the few white clouds that were dispersed in the sky.

"I always want to fly when the day is this clear," Hari commented.

"Fly?" Ryoma blinked.

"Yeah," Hari smiled dreamingly. "I love flying…"

"Huh," was all Ryoma said.

Hari chuckled and turned to her side to look at Ryoma who was plucking at the strings at his racket. She noticed that he did that a lot.

"Ryoma-kun, Hari-chan!" Nanako called making the two look to the side and see the older girl standing by the fence. "There's a man here wanting to see Hari-chan."

Hari frowned confused before she remembered Hisakawa making her sit up abruptly.

"Oh, right," she said.

"Hari?" Ryoma asked.

"Come on, Ryo-chan;" Hari said.

...

"…so we will start your homeschooling for magic immediately," Hisakawa said looking at Hari who looked confused.

"But I'm suspended and I was told my magic was locked because of it," Hari said.

"That's easily fixed," Hisakawa said, "besides when you resign from Hogwarts you will be accepted into our homeschool program. It won't be affected by what happened in Britain."

Hari nodded thoughtfully, "I haven't formally resigned yet, though."

Hisakawa arched a brow at her, "may I ask why?"

Hari looked around at Rinko who was there with her in the office they normally talked in. Nanjiro had taken Ryoma with him to play some tennis while Hari and Rinko talked to Hisakawa.

"I didn't want Dumbledore to know I had left yet," Hari admitted, "I…I know he would immediately try to bring me back."

"Why?" Rinko asked.

"He wants control over me," Hari said glancing at her. "I told you about him before, Rinko-san. He is one of those who want my fame and he thinks I should be at Hogwarts doing whatever he thinks is ideal for the greater good."

Hisakawa seemed to understand more than Rinko did and nodded with a thoughtful look on his face.

"How did you plan on resigning?" Hisakawa asked.

"I asked my aunt to send a letter when the term was over," Hari said, "then I would be gone and hopefully he wouldn't be able to find me."

"I think you should go ahead and resign right away," Hisakawa said, "that way we can get started on your homeschooling. Also, your adoption is registered in the muggle world first and foremost. We'll seal your adoption in the magical world and hopefully, that will help hide you from the British Wizarding world."

Hari nodded allowing a small smile to escape.

...

"Hi Hari-chan," Momoshiro grinned as he sat down in his seat beside her in the classroom.

"Momo-chan," Hari smiled back. "You're late."

"Surprisingly later than you," Momoshiro shot back.

Hari scoffed, "I'm not late."

"You where late every day last week, Hari-chan," Momoshiro pointed out.

"Hm," Hari pouted, "still got here before you today."

"Hai, hai," he laughed. "How are you settling in?"

"Alright," Hari smiled. "I love being here."

He smiled again and sighed when the teacher started the class and immediately fell asleep in his seat making Hari roll her eyes at him, but turned away from him to pay attention to the teacher. She glanced at Momoshiro who reminded her a little of Ron with his attitude to classes.

The class finished and Hari stretched and yawned before glancing over at a still sleeping Momoshiro. He still didn't wake up even with the whole class moving around, talking and scraping chairs against the floor.

A smile crossed Hari's face as she got a good idea. Biting her lips to stop from laughing out loud she reached for a marker…this was going to be good!

...

Hari followed after a chatting Momoshiro who had woken from his nap when Kaido had kicked his chair so hard that he fell off it. Hari had seen the small flash of amusement on Kaido's face when he saw Momoshiro before he had hidden it behind his familiar scowl.

"…you have to eat lunch with us, Hari-chan," Momoshiro said. "The others won't mind."

"I'm not in the tennis club, though," Hari said.

"That doesn't matter," Momoshiro claimed. "Echizen will be there too, you know."

Hari smiled and nodded as she tried to keep a straight face as Momoshiro got a confused look on his face as he noticed the strange looks he was getting from the passing students.

"Oi! Hari-chan!" Kikumaru cheered already running toward her from where the tennis regulars were gathered under a tree in the yard, but he stopped before he could reach them as he saw Momoshiro. He blinked and then he started to laugh. "Heheheh! Momo! Hehehe!"

"EH? Kikumaru-sempai?" Momoshiro blinked confusedly.

Ryoma chuckled from his seat in the grass but he hid it behind his Ponta, while Kawamura smiled looking like he really wanted to laugh but was too kind to actually do it. Oishi chuckled while Inui scribbled in his notebook muttering to himself as he gazed up at Momoshiro. Tezuka looked blank and Hari was wondering if he ever showed an expression.

Fuji, though…he was smiling but he wasn't looking at Momoshiro with his eyes closed (again, how did he actually see anything?) but at her and he looked calm yet amused. She squared her shoulders and tried to ignore him.

"Um, Momo, have you looked in a mirror?" Oishi ever the kind one asked. He was trying not to laugh.

"A mirror?" Momoshiro frowned. "No…"

He ran to a window and stared at the reflexion his mouth gaping and horror crossed his face.

"Eh?...How…Who…?"

The words: SLEEPING BEAUTY was written in a black marker. He reached up to rub at it, but it wasn't going off. He turned toward Hari who stared back at him with an innocent look on her face.

"What? Do you want something, Momo-chan?" her smile grew as she asked.

He narrowed his eyes at her.

"You did this!" he glared.

"Me?" Hari asked shocked a hand going to her chest. "Why do you think I did this?"

"I know you did!" Momoshiro growled taking a step closer to her. "You're the one who sat beside me and you were close when I woke up!"

Hari's lips twitched amused but that seemed to be all the proof he needed as he started to run.

"Eeep!" Hari laughed and ran with him chasing her around the group of laughing tennis players.

"I'll get you!" Momoshiro yelled.

"You can try!" She yelled back with a teasing smile.

Hari laughed as she ran with Momoshiro chasing behind her through the school.

"Hari-san?" Sakuno asked when Hari almost collided with her and her friend Tomoka.

"Oy! Watch it!" Tomoka yelled annoyed.

"Ah, sorry!" Hari grinned before looking behind her. "Oops, sorry, got to run! I have an enrage peach behind me. See yah!"

She ran ignoring their confusion as Momoshiro rounded the corner.

...

Hari fell down next to Ryoma who lazily looked over at her. She breathed harder and sweat was clear on her forehead but she didn't care.

"Water," she gasped.

"Hai, hai," Ryoma sighed and tossed her a bottle of water.

"Eh? Where's Momo?" Kikumaru asked.

Hari gulped the water down before wiping her mouth with the back of her hand as she looked at Kikumaru.

"I guess he's on his way," she said. "I think he went to wash his face."

Ryoma snorted beside her.

"Did you really draw it on his face?" Kikumaru asked with a smile.

"Saa?" Hari said, borrowing Fuji's favourite expression.

She reached over to take a bite of Ryoma's food just as the bell rang and she sighed. She hadn't had time to eat lunch. Well, whatever.

"See you later, Ryo-chan," Hari said.

"If Momo-chan-sempai doesn't kill you first," Ryoma deadpanned.

Hari just grinned, "well, he'll have to get in line."

She waved and turned to leave missing the clear blue eyes that stared at her with a pensive look.

...

 **Meanwhile somewhere in Scotland...**

Dumbledore sighed as he stared out at the school population as they were all gathered to dinner in the Great Hall. He easily spotted Ron and Hermione seated at the Gryffindor table looking down and barely talking to anyone but each other. They looked alone without the auburn hair witch at their side and Dumbledore felt a spark of annoyance at his Potion professor who went above his head to the Minister of Magic himself causing Hari to get suspended. If she hadn't been suspended then Hari wouldn't have…

"Albus?" McGonagall asked.

He inhaled deeply and forced a smile on his face as he turned to his deputy.

"Yes, what is it, Minerva?" he asked.

"Are you ok?" she asked.

"I'm fine," he reassured her, "but gather the professors to the staff room after dinner."

McGonagall nodded looking curious but didn't ask anything else.

Dumbledore watched as his professors all found their seat around the long table in the staff room. It was where they normally had their staff meetings to discuss the classes and plans.

"Attention, please," Dumbledore said and they all fell silent looking at him.

He saw Snape looking bored and had a sneer on his face like normal, while McGonagall looked collected and patient as always. Flitwick and Sprout looked curious while Hagrid looked a little worried. The rest was a mix of the others.

"Why did you ask us to come here, Albus?" Snape asked impatiently, "I have a potion to brew."

"It's unusual for you to ask for an extra meeting with so short noticed," Hooch commented.

Dumbledore sighed and looked at them.

"It is," he admitted. "But I thought it best to inform you all about the news at once and then we'll discuss how to proceed."

"What news, Albus?" McGonagall asked.

"I received a letter this morning from Hari Potter," Dumbledore started.

"What does that brat want now," Snape sneered. "Complain some more?"

"Shut up, Severus," McGonagall snapped at her before turning her eyes to Dumbledore once more. "What did she want, Albus?"

"I think I'll read you the letter," Dumbledore said feeling tired. He pulled out the carefully folded letter and unfolded it getting ready to read.

...

 _-Letter-_

 _Dear Professor Dumbledore and staff._

 _I, with this letter, formally withdraw from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I will not come back after my suspension as I find it unacceptable to be punished for something that never should have been allowed to happen in the first place._

 _I will not be talked out of this decision when I have given it much thought. I only stayed for as long as I did because of Ron and Hermione, but I can't do that anymore. It isn't fair to them to be constantly in danger because of me and danger seems to follow me at Hogwarts so I resign. I can't trust that I am safe at the school when all I have experienced is being in danger._

 _I ask that you don't look for me. You won't find me. I am now happy and safe as I have left my so-called relatives and won't be returning to their so-called care. Did you know they hated me? I told you I didn't want to go back. I asked to be allowed to stay with Ron and his family during summer, but you refused. Why should you have a say in where I stay, professor? You're not my guardian. You should have seen that something was wrong. You all should._

 _As for reasons why I chose to quit; I have almost died every year I've been at Hogwarts, Professor. That isn't acceptable. Do you mean to tell me that only first years, then second years and finally third years was able to figure the truth out and do something about it? We should never have been put in that situation in the first place. Quirrell, basilisk, Voldemort himself (!) and finally Sirius and the Dementors. While I don't really blame you for Sirius (though I blame the magical world for not giving him the trail he deserved and just throwing him in jail like trash, but that a completely different rant so I shall leave it for now) I am glad I had the chance to meet him; I do blame you for allowing the Dementors into the school. Did you know I hear my mum die when they're close?_

 _Another reason, I am sick and tired of being either the hero or the big bad wolf for the sheep in the wizarding world. Either I'm the Girl-Who-Lived or I'm the one who is to blame for everything. I am never just ME! I'm Hari Potter, a girl who just wants to have friends, a family and a safe place to call home like everyone else. Even you teachers only see the Girl-Who-Lived or the orphaned girl of James and Lily Potter. I never knew them nor do I know why I'm always punished or praised for things they did when they were at school. How is that fair?!_

 _Do I really need more reasons? I have more, but I don't think I'll waste more paper on writing them down. Think and I'm sure you'll figure it out._

 _Next time your mess gets back to bite you, clean it up yourself and don't expect CHILDREN to do it for you! Voldemort might be gone, but his followers aren't, are they?_

 _Thank you for nothing, and hope to never see any of you again,_

 _Harriett Lily Potter._

 _-end letter-_

 _..._

Dumbledore watched as his professors processed the letter and saw the guilt on many of their faces, he felt a spark of guilt himself and he knew he had failed with her. He should never have allowed some of the situations to get that out of hand, he had only meant for her to be trained so she was ready to face Voldemort when he came back for her. He needed her to show the wizarding world the ideal of the light and how they would progress and pull out of the past. She was the one who should lead the way.

Now it was all lost and it was because of him, and because of the school. He had honestly thought she was happy there, that she saw Hogwarts as her home. He had miscalculated and now they were paying for it.

"Please, don't tell me you're actually listening to the brat?" Snape sneered. "She's just complaining and whining because she's not getting what she wants and not everyone is bowing at her feet! She's taking the punishment for her misdeeds like any other student would."

"Then why is she the only one suspended, Snape?" Sprout asked. "Shouldn't Miss Granger and Mr Weasley also be suspended if that was true?"

"The Minister thought…" Albus started.

"The Minister thought he could blame the escape of Sirius Black on a 13-year-old witch and save his career as Minister for a little while longer," McGonagall spoke up looking a little pale but her eyes shot glares as she stared at Dumbledore. "He singled Hari out because of her name and because of Snape's hate for the girl. Granger and Weasley don't carry the same weight, so they were spared."

"Enough," Dumbledore said making them all fall silent once more. "We need to figure out what to do now."

They had to find her and get her back. She belonged at Hogwarts. It was all for the greater good. He didn't notice McGonagall narrowing her eyes as she looked at him, nor the way Flitwick and Sprout were exchanging looks as he thought about where Hari could be.

 **...**

 **...**

 **AN: What do you think about the revealing of magic to the Echizen's?** **A little peek in on the magical world... I don't plan on having many of those, but it will happen occasionally (probably).**

 **Thank you to all of you who left a review! It really does help to keep me motivated!**

 **Like always: let me know who you wish to see Hari with. Fuji, Sanada or Yukimura? :)**

 **Japanese words used:**  
 **Tadaima - I'm home**  
 **Okaeri - Welcome back**  
 **Oyaji - Old man/ dad**  
 **Urusai - Loud, noisy**  
 **Saa - filler**


	7. Doubles

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Prince of Tennis!**

 **...**

 **...**

Hari shook her head not impressed but amused as she watched Ryoma and Momoshiro sitting on the ground their backs pressed against the railing at the bridge that was overriding the freeway.

"Eeergh…"

"Aaaahhh…"

"I ate way too much!" Momoshiro groaned.

"It's because you're way too stubborn," Ryoma said.

Hari hid her chuckle behind her hand as she looked at them. Ryoma talking about others being stubborn, now, that was hilarious. She tilted her head as she remained silent watching them. They had been getting along quite well, until the girl they didn't know the name off had come and awoken the competitor instinct in them both. Not that Hari minded, it was good entertainment watching them see who could out eat the other. Though, Hari must admit…she did get a little sick just watching the amount of greasy food they ate.

"Nah, Echizen," Momoshiro said.

"What is it?" Ryoma asked.

"Like that girl said before," the taller of the two started. "The Singles 1 and 2 are Captain Tezuka and Fuji-sempai. Next, the doubles 1 team is Eiji-sempai and Oishi-sempai. They are the Golden Pair. The ones left are Taka-san, Mamushi, me and you…"

Hari could see what was coming just as they both stated:

"The no 3 singles player in the singles match is probably going to be me!"

They blinked as they stared at each other while Hari chuckled. They really were similar, she thought.

"Why don't you play it out?" Hari asked innocently.

Ryoma narrowed his eyes at her for a second but Momoshiro jumped to his feet looking eager.

"That's fine by me!" he said.

"Aa, I don't want to wait until tomorrow anyway," Ryoma said getting to his feet as well.

They walked around for a bit before they found a court that was open and saw that there were already a lot of people there. Hari looked around curiously and noticed that not everyone was playing tennis some was even using those shoes with wheels on. She wondered what they were called; she couldn't remember having seen them before. Perhaps Ryoma would teach her how to use them sometimes?

"Is there a fee?" Hari heard Momoshiro ask someone.

"No, it's free," the boy answered.

"Hi!" A cheerful voice called and they turned to see the girl from the burger place sitting on a low wall.

"It's her…" Momoshiro commented.

Just as they were going to go over there two boys interrupted them.

"We haven't seen your faces before," one of them said. "You're new here?"

"Aa," Momoshiro nodded while Ryoma just stared at them without saying anything.

...

"You know…" Hari smiled glancing at the girl from before as they both watched Ryoma and Momoshiro getting ready for their double game. "I never got to say thank you."

The girl blinked and looked at Hari. "Thank you? For what?"

"You gave me a lot of free entertainment," Hari smirked.

She looked confused still but smiled a little.

"What's your name?" Hari asked curiously turning to look at the girl more clearly. She had short light brown hair that reached her chin; Hari noticed that she had various hairclips in her hair probably to keep it from falling into her eyes.

"Ann," she smiled.

Hari arched a brow at the lack of last name but there was a note of some mischief in her eyes that told Hari that the omission was on purpose. But why did she purposely not give her last name?

"I'm Hari," Hari smiled back.

"Do you attend Seigaku as well?" Ann asked curiously.

"I do," Hari nodded, "just started a few weeks ago."

Ann nodded before looking back at the court where Ryoma and Momoshiro got ready to take the first serve.

"Oh…" Ann mumbled seeing the twist serve from Ryoma.

"He's not holding back," Hari grinned.

"He can do the twist serve?" Ann asked surprised.

Hari nodded.

"What an amazing serve," Ann complimented. "I can't believe I got to see it in a place like this."

It wasn't much of a game with them winning by Ryoma's twist serves. Hari shook her head and pouted a little.

"Eh? What's wrong, Hari?" Ann asked noticing her pout.

"I wanted to see Ryo-chan and Momo-chan play together," Hari sighed, "it would have been so…amusing."

Ann blinked and looked back at Hari who only pouted more when Ryoma and Momoshiro won one more game without really playing together. It was clear that they didn't really play a real double match… and Hari wanted to see them work together.

"Oi! Who's next?" Momoshiro called out looking around to see if anyone else would step forward to challenge them.

"We'll challenge you," one of the guys from before said.

Hari looked at them and instantly smiled as she sensed that they were good, better than the others who had challenged Ryoma and Momoshiro at last.

"Who are they?" Hari asked looking at Ann who blinked.

"Izumi Tomoya is the one with orange hair," Ann said, "and Fukawa Kimiyoshi is the one with long dark hair."

"I see," Hari mused. "I think I can get some entertainment here."

"Your friends won before;" Ann pointed out, "isn't that enough?"

"They didn't really play a doubles match," Hari said without looking away from the court. "It's more fun if I can tease them with this."

Hari knew Ann was staring at her, but she didn't care. She predicted a lot of fun teasing material coming and while she did want her friends to win she didn't really see them winning without learning how to work together and they wouldn't learn that until they saw the consequences of only playing by themselves. Wanting them to learn the lesson didn't mean that she couldn't have her fun while doing it, now did it?

15-0.

"That one was close enough for me to get!" Ryoma glared at Momoshiro.

"In this situation, the one who's hitting forehand should get it," Momoshiro glared back.

Hari shook her head as she watched them go back to the match.

30-0

Again the same mistake, Hari thought shaking her head slightly but smiled a little as they snapped at each other. Ok, so maybe she was bad for finding amusement from their frustration and snapping at each other but she really couldn't help herself.

"They're not in sync, are they," Ann asked.

"No," Hari shook her head. "Not at all."

40-0

That was Ryoma's ball, Hari was sure of it. She had read a lot of tennis books since she got there and she thought she understood doubles fairly well. She found it fascinating to watch someone work together and seemingly knowing what their partner was going to do both in defence and offence.

"By the way, Momo-sempai," Ryoma said ignoring the annoying comment from the other as he pointed his racket at the boundary line. "The doubles' boundary line is here, isn't it?"

"So what?" Momoshiro asked confused.

"It's hard to because it's my first time," Ryoma confessed rubbing the back of his head.

"First time?!" Momoshiro asked shocked. "No way!"

"Does it look like I've played doubles before?" Ryoma asked.

Hari laughed shaking her head. They were at least talking to each other now.

"He's never played doubles before?" Ann asked.

"No," Hari shook her head, "not as far as I know, at least. He's a very strong singles player, though, and he's been trained as a singles player his whole life."

"Then why is he playing doubles now?" Ann asked confused.

"To prove a point," Hari shrugged before looking back at the match and not elaborating her statement.

"Game set! Game won by Fukawa-Izumi pair!" the one who acted as a referee called.

...

"Are you going home now?" Ann asked as she followed Hari over to the two boys. Hari smiled amusedly as she spotted the annoyance of having lost on their faces.

"We lost so there's nothing more to do here;" Momoshiro said.

"That's right," Ann said, "you guys were no competition at all. I was expecting more since you were regulars from Seigaku."

She turned and started to walk away while Hari was torn between amusement at her bold statement and annoyance at the same statement, as she felt it went against the pride of their school. Yet, she felt it was more to challenge them than to anything else so she refrained from saying anything and instead watched the annoyance on Momoshiro and Ryoma's faces.

"She's right, you know," Momoshiro said grabbing his tennis gear. "We'd be impossible together."

"Izumi! Fukawa! You guys are amazing! Being able to beat those two amazing guys and all."

The sentence had them pausing on their way back and Hari glanced to the court to see the pair who had just won over Ryoma and Momoshiro talking to two other guys.

"To be expected of Gyokurin Middle School Tennis Club's famous pair's team," the other guy said and Hari heard Momoshiro comment on that they might play them again in the district preliminaries.

"Don't compare our team with theirs," Izumi said.

"Even if they have top-notch skills, they don't have any control over their double's game at all," Fukawa added.

They all laughed.

"Your levels are way different. Let's go," one of the other guys said.

"That crash site combination was just waiting to happen. We'll beat them no matter what they do."

"That's right."

The conversation faded leaving Ryoma and Momoshiro standing on the top of the stone stairs in silence while Hari watched them curious to see how they would react to that. She didn't have to wait long before Momoshiro said something.

"Hey, Echizen, what I said before about wanting to be the no.3 singles player…I take it back."

"I take back what I said too," Ryoma said smiling.

Hari grinned as they once again said the same thing:

"As I thought, real men should play doubles!"

Hari couldn't help it. She laughed. She laughed so hard they both turned to her and stared at her like she was crazy.

"Hari?"

"Sor—sorry! I…I…just…just couldn't…help it," Hari gasped wiping a tear that escaped from her chin. "You two are hilarious!"

Momoshiro frowned at her, "we're not!"

Ryoma nodded in agreement to Momoshiro.

Hari just laughed again before turning to walk down the stairs, "you are. I'm so happy I decided to be dragged along with the two of you today. So much fun!"

She couldn't help but smile when she heard Momoshiro whisper to Ryoma:

"Why do I have a feeling we're not going to be able to forget this match with her around?"

"Because we won't," Ryoma whispered back.

Hari didn't say anything but felt her smile stretch even more on her lips.

...

Ryoma blinked at her and Hari thought he resembled Karupin with the way he blinked and looked at her. She smiled at him.

"What is this?" he asked.

"A book about doubles," Hari explained. "I've just finished it and I think it's good. It should explain the method of the game to you."

He looked down at the book and then back at her.

"You're interested in doubles, Hari?" he asked.

Hari shrugged leaning against his desk as she watched him.

"I guess," She said, "I think it's fascinating."

Ryoma nodded and started to flick through the book making Hari smile a little.

"I told coach Ryuzaki that I wanted to play doubles," Ryoma said. &o

Hari nodded in understanding.

"You just have to learn how to rely on another player out on the court," Hari said, "and figure out your weakness."

Ryoma looked at her before he got a thoughtful look on his face.

"My weakness?" he mused.

"Yours and Momo-chan's," Hari continued.

He looked confused but Hari just smiled and left the room. She was sure he'd figure it out.

...

Hari decided to go out for a run while Ryoma and Momoshiro were practising at the shrine. She knew they would figure out their weakness and work together to solve it. She smiled slightly as she heard their bickering even on the street outside.

She started her pace at a moderate speed as she jogged through the streets and suddenly found herself down by the river. Deciding she wanted to run along the river she ran down the steps and started to run to the right.

 **"** **The magic drinks the jammed translator behind a solicitor,"** Hari startled so much she lost her balance and would have fallen, probably into the river, if not for a strong arm that grabbed her arm and managed to keep her on her feet.

She frowned and turned to see Kaido right behind her, he must have come running behind her and she hadn't noticed him.

"What is with those random things you say?!" She gasped pulling away from his grip.

He gave her a blank look.

"Whatever," she muttered annoyed at the lack of response. She noticed that he was dressed in black shorts that reached his knees and a singlet; clearly, he was out practising as well. "Thank you."

 **"** **When does the adorable self charge the trade?"** He looked away from her and started to jog again leaving a confused Hari behind. Did the sentences he says even make any sense? It didn't seem like he really was saying anything, and she hadn't really seen his lips move like he was talking…it was more like he was…hissing.

Hissing.

Oh.

"Maji ka yo?" Hari shook her head to clear it and stared at the running form of Kaido who had already gotten pretty far away from her. She started to run after him and used her speed to catch up to him.

"Chotto!" Hari called out. "Ka-chan!"

He stopped and she noticed him almost stumble before he turned to look at her clearly shocked. Was that a blush in his cheeks? Hari repressed a smile as she caught up to him.

"What?" he barked with a fierce scowl.

"You don't know do you?" she asked.

"Know what?" he asked confused but still scowling.

Hari just grinned and laughed. "Sugoi! You're really awesome, Ka-chan!"

He blushed again and turned his back to her in an effort to hide from her. She tried to hold in her laughter the best she could. He got embarrassed so easily, didn't he? She hadn't noticed before.

To think he was talking in parseltongue and didn't even know it was hilarious and explained so much! She should have figured it out much earlier, she thought. Though, she hadn't exactly expected to hear parseltongue here of all places and without even a snake in sight.

"You run really fast, by the way, Ka-chan," Hari said, "can I join you?"

He blinked at her before he shrugged and started to run again careful not to look at her so she suspected he was hiding a blush. She took his shrug as acceptance and set her pace to match his. She observed Kaido who was looking so determined as he ran.

...

Hari leaned forward slightly resting her hands on her knees as she tried to catch her breath. She looked over at Kaido who was stretching out on a nearby bench. He really did have stamina for him to keep running like he did and not even pausing before starting to stretch out. She suspected that he had held back a little as well because of her and she didn't like it.

"You're really good, Ka-chan," Hari smiled at him pushing herself upright and making him glance at her. "Can I come running with you again another time?"

He blinked at her, "…you want to?"

She blinked back, "yes. Why wouldn't I?"

He shrugged and looked away from her.

"So…may I?" she asked again when he hadn't responded.

"Ok," he nodded.

"Great! Next time I won't allow you to hold back because of me!" Hari promised.

He looked at her momentarily surprised before he managed to school his expression again to the scowl. She wondered if that was his default expression. That was also something she had to work on.

"… how did you know I held back?" he finally asked.

"Aha! I knew it!" Hari exclaimed, "I just knew."

He gave her what she read as a curious look before he looked away again and focused on his stretching. She tilted her head and moved over to him.

"Can you show me how to do that?" she asked.

He glanced at her again before he sighed resignedly.

"Hai," he said.

Hari did as he said and she smiled as she felt the work being done. This was something they never did after Quidditch practice, but she really saw the rewards of doing it. She could feel her muscles start to relax and get better as she stretched. At Hogwarts, they would get potions if they had sore muscles and that would help, but in the muggle world, she wouldn't have access to that as easily so learning this was brilliant.

Hari sat down as she watched Kaido start to line up empty Ponta boxes on a wall curiously. She saw him grab his racket before standing back and start to hit the tennis balls one by one and she watched how they went in a perfect bow and hit every Ponta box off the wall. Hari grinned as she watched him finding his technique fascinating.

...

Hari frowned when it got late and she figured she had to get back to the house. The only problem was…which way, was it? She had run longer than she had planned and had gotten distracted by Kaido so she had forgotten to pay attention to the route they had taken.

"Problem?" Kaido asked breaking into her thoughts.

"…I forgot," Hari frowned.

"Forgot what?"

"The way back to Ryo-chan's home…" Hari said.

He arched a brow, "isn't it your home as well now?"

Hari blinked before she smiled and rubbed the back of her head sheepishly, "ah. Right. That's going to take some getting used to."

He sighed, "come on."

She followed him and this time they walked at a more moderate pace. She knew he wasn't one to talk much and she was content to walk in silence. She lost track of the turns and twist they took through the streets until they reached a familiar street and she recognised the gate leading to her home.

"Arigatou, Ka-chan!" Hari smiled and waved. "See you at the matches tomorrow!"

He gave a short nod before turning around without saying anything else. Hari shrugged and walked through the gate. She wondered if Ryoma was back yet.

...

"You're a little late, aren't you Hari-chan?" Nanako asked looking at Hari who was eating her breakfast rather quickly.

Hari sighed but nodded, "I know."

"Ryoma-kun has already left," Nanako continued as she put a glass of milk next to Hari's plate. "His friend came and picked him up."

Hari nodded again chewing on her food before swallowing and looking over at Nanako.

"I'm just watching so it's not that important that I'm there at the same time as Ryo-chan and the others," Hari pointed out to the worried older girl.

"But…" Nanako looked worried still and Hari sighed softly.

"It's fine, Nanako-san," Hari assured her. "I'll find my way."

Nanako looked a little worried at her but she refrained from saying anything. Hari didn't doubt that she had wanted to say something about her ability to get to the right place. Hari wasn't getting lost all the time, thank you very much! She sighed as she finished her breakfast.

"Thank you for the meal," Hari said getting up and was about to grab her plate to clean it when Nanako took it. She smiled and Hari nodded back at her before she rushed out of the kitchen. She grabbed her bag and put on her shoes before she was out of the house with a call of "Bye!"

...

Hari grumbled as she looked around. She had found the park where the Tokyo District Preliminary Tournament was being kept (finally, she didn't want to admit how long she had been looking for it), but…she was lost. Again. She sighed as she walked around the park and saw plenty of tennis teams, but she couldn't find Ryoma or the others.

"Itee!" Hari grumbled as she collided with someone making her fall to the ground sitting on her arse. She rubbed her head as it throbbed slightly and glared up at the dark haired teen with shoulder-length hair. He blinked at her like he wasn't sure what he was seeing.

"You should look where you're going," he muttered. "It wasn't my fault that you walked straight into me without looking where you were going. I was just standing here without doing anything wrong. No one can blame me for your carelessness."

Hari frowned at him as she heard his mutterings.

"Ibu!" Another teen scolded and Hari saw a boy with deep red bangs that covered his right eye, "you should help the girl up when you cause her to be knocked off her feet."

He turned toward her and smiled, "I'm sorry about him. Are you ok?"

"I'm fine," Hari said and got to her feet as she dusted herself off. "He's right it was my fault."

"Ah, Hari-chan!" A familiar girl said.

"Ann-chan!" Hari smiled, "how are you? What are you doing here?"

"You know Ann-chan?" the one who had helped her asked.

"We've met," Hari smiled briefly, "I must say, I do appreciate the entertainment you gave me last time. The boys were really riled up by what you said, so thank you!"

Ann got that confused look on her face but she shrugged and smiled at her. Hari looked around and saw for the first time that a group of boys was standing there watching her. They seemed to be on the same tennis team if their similar outfits were any indicator.

"Sorry about this," Hari bowed at them. "I didn't mean to run into you. I was just lost."

"Lost?" Ann asked curiously.

"I was looking for Ryo-chan and Momo-chan," Hari explained, "and the rest of the team, of course. Well, they keep moving and I can't find them."

"They keep moving?" the one with the bangs asked.

"Mm-hm," Hari nodded seriously. "If they kept to one spot I wouldn't have such a hard time finding them all the time. Really, how hard could it be?"

They blinked at her not sure what to say. Hari huffed and shrugged.

"They're probably about to start their match," Ann said. "I can show you the way if you want."

"Really?" Hari grinned. "That would be great!"

"Who are you?" the one called Ibu asked before Hari could leave.

"I'm Hari," Hari said waving at them. "I don't really know you either…"

"I'm Tachibana Kippei," the older one introduced himself with a kind smile and Hari could tell he was the leader of this team and he was good. There was a strength to his eyes that told Hari that he had what was needed to lead a team. This team would be a challenge should Ryoma and the others play them, Hari thought.

"You're the captain, aren't you?" Hari asked.

"I am," he said looking slightly surprised. "This is my team, Ibu Shinji, the one you collided with."

Hari glanced at him and saw the frown on his face, but otherwise didn't show any emotion.

"Kamio Akira," the one with the bangs smiled at her.

"Ishida Tetsu," the one with the bandana around his head. "Sakurai Masaya," brown-haired-one. "Mori Tatsunori," spiky black hair with brown eyes, "Uchimura Kyosuke" the one with the black cap.

Hari nodded at them and looked back at Ann who was smiling slightly.

"Nice to meet you," Hari said, "I'm sorry but I'm rather new to Tokyo, what school are you in?"

"Fudomine Middle School," Tachibana said.

"What about you?" Kamio asked smiling at her.

"Seigaku Middle School," Hari said while it would be fun to trick them it wouldn't work since Ann did know what school she was in. "I'm a second year."

"I see," Tachibana said. "Well, we'll let you go and find your friends."

Hari nodded and waved at them, "good luck today! I hope you'll be able to play Ryo-chan and the others! Bye!"

...

"Arigatou, Ann-chan," Hari smiled at the other girl. "I'll find my way now."

Ann did look a little doubtful, but she nodded and waved at Hari who was already running toward the court where Seigaku was going to play.

"Ah! Found it!" Hari exclaimed.

"Hari-sempai!"

Hari looked to the side to see the three first-year boys standing there and she smiled at them.

"Hi," she greeted.

"You're late!" Horio yelled.

"Ah, I got lost," Hari admitted sheepishly before she looked at the court and saw that they were already lined up and ready for the matches.

"Ryoma-kun and Momo-chan-sempai are playing doubles," Kachiro said making Hari look over at the younger boy with the bowler haircut.

"It's Ryoma-kun! I'm sure they will do fine!" Mizuno said.

Hari smiled slightly at the faith they had in Ryoma.

"First match! The doubles," a woman's voice called out through the speakers, "Seigaku's Momoshiro and Echizen's pair. Gyokurin's Izumi and Fukawa's pair."

"Oh… that is interesting," Hari grinned. "How much fun!"

"Hari-sempai?" Kachiro asked timidly.

Fuji who was standing just in front of them turned to look at them and Hari was aware that he was looking at her behind his closed eyes. She just smiled thought and laughed.

"This will be entertaining," Hari smirked. "Looks like Ryo-chan already has managed to piss them off."

"AH-UN strategy?" Kikumaru blinked confusedly. "You heard of it?"

"No," Inui denied as he leaned against the low wall.

Hari just smiled as the rest looked confused and talked about what kind of strategy it could be. Hari was curious herself to see how Ryoma and Momoshiro had worked to figure out their weakness from the last time they played.

"You know, Hari-chan?" Fuji asked.

"No," Hari denied. "But I have an idea…"

She refused to say anything more though.

Hari wasn't surprised to see that Izumi and Fukawa immediately tried to attack where they knew Ryoma and Momoshiro's weak spot was. But she did blink at the strategy they had come up with and a laugh burst from her lips as she realised what the AH-UN strategy was.

0-15

"A point right off the block!"

"I knew Echizen could do it," Horio commented superiorly making Hari smile slightly.

"It won't be that easy," Hari commented without looking away from the match.

30-30

It soon turned out that it wasn't that easy, and while they had covered their weakness in the middle (even if the shout was embarrassing as Kachiro commented) they hadn't figured out the other aspects of doubles play.

"Maybe I should have stayed back and watched them play," Hari mumbled to herself. "Looks like they're still not working together."

Hari sighed and shook her head as she looked around at the spectators. They were loud, Hari thought.

"Game! Gyokurin 1-0!"

...

"Game! Gyokurin! 2-0!"

...

"Ahcha! They're turning against each other!" Horio cried.

"Inui-sempai, to make a comeback now, what must they do?" Mizuno asked looking at Inui.

"There's no way to beat the combo of Izumi and Fukawa right now," Inui said.

"They're good, that Gyokurin-pair," Kikumaru commented.

"Hai," Oishi agreed.

"Don't worry, it's Echizen we're talking about," Horio said. "I'm sure he has something prepared for doubles."

Hari laughed making the others look at her with strange looks.

"Hari-sempai?" Kachiro asked.

"Sorry," Hari smiled, "but…don't you know?"

"Know what?" Kikumaru asked curiously.

"Ryo-chan has only played doubles one time before this," Hari said, "and that was two days ago when he lost against that Gyokurin-pair."

They stared at her shocked.

"You're kidding me!" Horio yelled.

Hari laughed once more and smiled at them, "does it look like he is the type to share a court with anyone?"

"You've got a point…" Kikumaru said. "Ochibi…"

He looked worriedly out on the court while Hari smiled and rested her arms on the lower wall and stared at the court.

"There is one way they still can win," Hari smiled.

"Eh?"

...

Hari watched as they still continued to self-destruct and even hitting each other at the back of the head, and she sighed. Ok, so she did find some amusement in this and she would definitely have more teasing material over the two, but it did start to get old and they really did need to win that match. She didn't really want to see them lose and not like this. She wondered if they ever would see the way to go to secure the win.

They stared at each other and Hari smiled when they suddenly went to each side and started to draw a line down the middle of the court. Finally.

"Eh?"

"What are they doing?"

She heard the confusion and smiled.

"That's it," she grinned.

...

Hari laughed as she watched Ryoma and Momoshiro getting scolded by Ryuzaki after they won the match.

"You look entirely too amused," Fuji said.

"Hai," Hari agreed, glancing at him. "But then again…so do you."

He smiled wider.

"Guess so," he agreed.

Hari looked away from him again and over at Ryoma who was looking embarrassed.

 **...**

 **AN:** **What do you think? :)**

 **...**

 **Hope to make up my mind about the pairing soon. Hopefully before the next chapter. So maybe last time to let me know what pairing you want :)**  
 **Fuji, Sanada or Yukimura?**

 **...**

 **I want to decide soon because I use too much time trying to make up my mind and I need to know because I want to plan out the story more. The pairing will decide what will happen and how it will happen. So... I need to make up my mind. OK, a rant about the pairing... you have no idea how difficult it is to choose. I never had that problem before... sigh.**

 **...**

 **Japanese words used:**  
 **Maji ka yo - For real?**  
 **Chotto - wait**  
 **Sugoi - amazing**  
 **Arigatou - Thank you**  
 **Itee - ouch!**


	8. A good team

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Prince of Tennis!**

 **...**

 **parseltongue**  
 **...**

 **The decision about the pairing in author note at the bottom :) Hope you'll like the final decision.**

 **...**

 **...**

Hari tilted her head as she watched Tachibana Kippei talk with Mori Tatsunori and Uchimura Kyosuke after they had lost for Oishi and Kikumaru. She couldn't hear what was said as she was too far away, but the fact that Tachibana got up and placed a hand on each of their shoulders and the fact that the two stood straighter without the slump they had just sported told Hari more than words ever could.

He was a good Captain.

She could tell that Tachibana hadn't just gotten her attention, but the journalist called Inoue's as well. She had noticed that he had watched Tachibana a lot throughout the games and also right now was he observing the Fudomine Captain closely with a pensive look on his face.

"He's good," Hari smiled.

"Hari-sempai?" Sakuno blinked up at her making Hari realise that the other girl was standing close by her. "Who are you talking about?"

"Tachibana-san," Hari gave her a smile, "he's good."

"You haven't watched him play yet," Horio exclaimed loudly, "how can you tell he's good? And why are you complimenting another team!"

"I'm not talking about his skills in tennis, though I'm sure he's very skilled, I was talking about his leadership. It's clear he has complete trust from his team and they're close," Hari said calmly.

"He's still not on our team so why are you watching him?" Horio asked with a frown.

"Why not?" Hari challenged back before smirking.

Horio blinked and looked kind of confused, but Hari looked away from him as she waited for the rain to give in. She sighed as she glanced up at the sky and wished for the clouds to disappear so that the games could continue. She got bored. She noticed that both Ryoma and Kaido were back again as well.

Hari smirked when she picked up on Ryoma's comments to Kaido and saw the annoyed look from the older boy. She ignored the wary looks from the first-years around her as she skipped over the low wall and made her way over to the bench that was right there. She leaned over Ryoma's shoulder almost hugging him from behind.

"I think you're going to get attacked by a snake if you're not more careful, Ryo-chan," Hari smirked.

"Hmph," Ryoma huffed but smirked slightly.

 **"** **The authority intervenes the thunder,"** she heard Kaido hiss and had to ignore the laughter that built up as she recognised the hiss for what it was. It had become easier now that she was expecting to hear it.

"Ka-chan!" Hari pulled away from Ryoma and turned toward Kaido who was blushing.

The rest of the team was gaping or laughing (Momoshiro), but Hari skipped over to Kaido.

"Don't kill Ryo-chan, ok?" Hari smiled.

 **"** **The unit witness the brave sense,"** Kaido looked away from her determinedly.

"Ah, don't be like that," Hari smiled. "Are you ready for the match?"

"Of course," he huffed glancing at her from the corner of his eyes.

"I know," Hari smiled tilting her head slightly.

"Wait!" Kikumaru waved his hands energetically as he stared at her. "You call him Ka-chan?"

Kaido hissed again and hid his face from the others, Hari was fairly sure he was blushing. Her smile widened.

"Hai," Hari looked at Kikumaru innocently, "so?"

They all stared at her, but she ignored them.

Ryoma shook his head as he watched them, his surprise subsided before the others, and he turned back to looking bored.

...

Kaido walked off without a word making the first years asked where he was going. Hari looked after him for a moment before she decided to follow him. She ignored the rain or the fact that she was getting wet as she followed him.

"Hi," Hari called as he had run back and forth the path a few times without seemingly noticing her, but he didn't startle as she called out so she thought he must have seen her where she was standing underneath a tree.

"What do you want?" he asked.

"Nothing," Hari shrugged before smiling slightly, "can I ask you something, Ka-chan?"

He scowled but he didn't start to run nor did he hiss so she took it as acceptance.

"Why do you play tennis?" Hari asked.

He stared at her without answering for a moment before he let out a low hiss and Hari didn't catch it to translate what he was saying.

"I like tennis," he eventually said before scowling but she could see he was sincere. "I don't need more reasons."

He got back to running and Hari watched him until the sky suddenly cleared and the rain stopped. Kaido paused and stared up at the sky before he turned back toward the courts. It was time for his match. Hari followed close behind him more contemplative than before.

...

She was a strange one, Kaido thought as he jogged back to the court occasionally glancing to Hari who was easily keeping up with him. He scowled when she met his eyes trying to hide his embarrassment from being caught looking at her.

He wasn't sure why she sought him out like she did, or why she had even started to call him by that ridiculous nickname! Normally other people, the girls especially, shied away from him because of his scary looks. Hari didn't and he wasn't really sure how to handle that or how he felt about it. He ignored the small voice in his mind that said he liked it.

She was smiling and seemed playful a lot of the time, something told him that given enough time she would be showing more of her mischievousness. He dreaded the day. He really did. He had seen how she liked to tease Ryoma, and even him. Yet… there was something else there too. He glanced over at her again and saw the pensive frown on her face like she was trying to figure something out. He wondered if it had anything with her last question. There was something more to that question than just curiosity, Kaido was sure of it. Sadness lurked underneath her smile and it bothered him more than it should. She was just Ryoma's crazy friend (he wouldn't admit that she was his friend now too).

Right, he had a match and he had to focus. Kaido let out a small hiss and immediately noticed the twitch of lips from Hari making him frown even more. What was with that?

...

"Game and match! Seigaku, Kaido!"

Hari had stayed with the first years and Inoue and Shiba as she had watched the match between Kaido and Kamio. It had been an intense match and Hari couldn't help but stare at Kaido who had won by sheer determination and stamina. He looked muddy and sweaty, but happy in his own way making her really believe his words about playing tennis because he liked it.

Just watching them had Hari see tennis in a new light, had her see the meaning of the word team in a new light; this entire day had proven to be an eye-opener for her. She had seen Ryoma play tennis before, she had seen Nanjiro play. She had even seen most of Seigaku play during practice, but it hadn't been anything like this. She could now really see the intensity and love they had for the game. She wanted it. She wanted to be part of it and she felt her hands itch to grab a racket and start training.

She had never felt like that when she played Quidditch.

Not to get it wrong because Hari loved Quidditch. She did, but she wasn't sure if she actually loved the sport or being able to fly the most. Not to mention that she had been pushed into it. She hadn't actively gone out for a spot on the school team and decided for herself that she had wanted to play. She loved the game, but she had always felt that something was…off. The way she had gotten her spot left a bitter taste in her mouth, the whispers of favouritism and taunts followed her down the hallways.

She remembered Hermione showing her the badge with her dad's name written on it showing her that he had been on the house teams as well. She had thought it was a way to connect with him. Something that made him more real in her eyes, but she soon realised that everyone knew that James Potter had been a Quidditch player and that he had been good.

She had given her best and worked hard to prove that she had earned the spot on the team, but she heard the whispers, she saw the looks. She knew the rest of the school thought it was unfair and thought she got special treatment because of her name and some even whispered that it was because professor McGonagall was so desperate for the Quidditch Cup that she had taken a bet on Hari and hoped that she was as good as her dad.

But Seigaku… They really loved tennis that was what Hari thought as she stared at Kaido. But it wasn't only him. It was all of them. Fuji, Kawamura, Oishi, Kikumaru…they all really loved tennis and they gave their all. Kawamura had even gotten injured taken a ball that was meant for Fuji and would for sure have injured the other boy.

Hari glanced over at Fuji who was sitting beside Kikumaru looking like he normally did, smiling and eyes closed. Yet… he had been really different earlier. She hadn't seen him like that before (not that she had known him for long). He had been serious; his clear blue eyes open and sharp as he had looked at Kawamura. She was unsure if anyone else saw the guilty look in those eyes or if she was the only one. Just by watching Fuji and Kawamura had Hari thinking that they really loved the game, and yet Fuji stopped it when he realised his friend, his partner, was hurt.

There were no hard feelings from the others, only supporting smiles and comforting words.

Hari couldn't help but wonder… wonder about her old Quidditch team. She couldn't really see them acting like that with her. Her mind flashed to the first game back in her second year, when Wood told her to 'get the snitch or die trying'. She wasn't entirely certain he hadn't been serious when saying it. Only the twins had acted like it was a stupid thing to say.

Then there was the instance back in her first year when no one talked to her, and only referred to her as 'the seeker', because of some lost points and a detention that almost got them killed (not that they knew that, but still…) It hurt that they so easily just turned their back on her, just when she had started to trust them and enjoy playing with them.

The next year Hari had worked harder, even refusing to let a rough bludger stop her and ending up with no bones in her left arm (well, that was thanks to Lockhart and she was so not going into him right now).

And this year she had lost a match for the first time and she had seen the disappointed looks, the dejected faces as they mumbled it was okay and Wood refusing to get out of the shower for a long time. The fact that she had faced Dementors and heard her mum die in her mind was not something they cared about. Then there was the fact that Wood (the others hadn't protested) told her that she had to get her reaction to the Dementors under control or she couldn't be on the team anymore. She was thirteen. Thirteen and they wanted her to learn a charm so difficult even adult wizards and witches had trouble learning it. She had, though. She'd learned. She had pushed herself through the torture of listening to her parents' death over and over again, and for what? For someone who threatened to turn their backs on her if she didn't.

Hari glanced over at Oishi and Kikumaru who had played well and proven too strong for their opponents from Fudomine, and Hari could only think that Fred and George could be the closest she'd seen as synchronized as Oishi and Kikumaru was. Yet, Fred and George were different from the golden pair.

And now finally Kaido, who even had somehow managed to hit a new kind of ball that had been quickly named a Boomerang Snake. Fitting, Hari thought. It had been a tough match for him but he had won.

"-ri-sempai? Hari-sempai?" a voice far away seemed to interfere with her thoughts and she realised that she had been spacing out.

"Eh?" Hari blinked and saw the freshmen trio staring at her with worried looks on their faces.

"Are you ok?" Kachiro asked.

"Um, I…yeah," Hari said smiling up at him and pushing the thoughts away the best she could. "Just got lost in thoughts."

She wasn't sure why she had started to think about Quidditch, or why the memories involving Quidditch had dragged her away from the reality. She looked around quickly and was pleased to see that no one else seemed to have noticed her spacing out.

She looked back at the trio who was still staring at her with a worried look on their face and she gave them another smile and tilted her head slightly as she looked at them.

"I'm fine," Hari said

"If you're sure," Mizuno said turning away from her and she let her smile slip off her face as she looked back at the tennis courts where Kaido was getting off the court.

Sighing, Hari barely noticed that the team talking around her. Why had she thought about Quidditch again? Right…she had thought that she loved it, but she didn't think it was anything to the way Ryoma and his friends loved tennis. If asked what they wanted they would say play tennis. Hari knew it, and while she had been practising tennis by herself lately she missed that feeling. She missed the commitment she saw in the others. Would it be possible for her to find it?

...

"Hari?" This time it was Ryoma who was looking at her with a worried frown on his face.

"Ryo-chan," Hari smiled at him. "You're playing next?"

"Yeah," he nodded, "are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she assured him. "Don't worry about me, Ryo-chan. I just got lost in thoughts, I'll tell you later."

He still looked slightly worried but he nodded accepting it. She reached out and patted his shoulder.

"I can't wait to see you play," Hari grinned happily at him. "Show them what you got."

"Of course," he smirked back letting his excitement for the game show making her smile more warmly at him. She pushed her earlier thoughts away, she was here and she was watching Ryoma play tennis and that was enough for her. She could figure the rest out later because she wasn't going to miss out on the chance to watch her (new) brother play tennis.

She saw the one she had collided with earlier that day getting ready from Fudomine and tilted her head as she watched him. He was strong, she was sure about that. Yet, she was not entirely sure just how strong or how much of a challenge he would give Ryoma.

...

"All we have to do is win 3 matches," Hari heard Oishi say. "Win this one and we're champions! Go get them, Echizen!"

"Go, Ryoma-kun!"

"Go, Echizen!"

Hari smiled as she heard the team cheer for Ryoma who looked calm and not nervous at all as he was lined up and ready for his first official singles game for Seigaku. Though she smiled to herself, it wasn't like it was his first singles match ever. He had probably played more than most of the others on this team.

"It's finally Ryoma-kun's official singles debut," Shiba gushed.

"Don't just stand there;" Inoue said glancing at her, "make sure you take his pictures."

"I know," Shiba said as she started to take pictures.

Hari turned her attention back to the court and to Ibu, the one she had collided with, who was standing looking calm yet moody. She couldn't help it, but he really did look moody. She was curious about how good he was, the murmurs from the crowd could suggest that he was a strong player.

Hari laughed delighted as she saw and heard the stunned crowd as they took in the twist serve Ryoma just had performed. She felt herself lighten up slightly as she watched Ryoma who was cockily bouncing a ball as he looked up at the referee like the crowd or Fudomine bench wasn't staring at him shocked.

"Hi! I'm still waiting for the call," Ryoma called out.

The referee shook himself out of his stupor and called out, "15-0."

30-0 – another twist serve.

"Go, Echizen!"

"What just happened?"

"That's freshman's this strong?"

"Who said that Seigaku's second singles match was a mercy match!"

Hari heard the crowd but she didn't turn away from the match as she smiled pleased.

"You look pleased," a calm voice interrupted her thoughts and she saw Inui stopping beside her. His glasses glinting in the sub, and she briefly wondered what kind of glasses he used to hide his eyes so well, her own didn't hide her green eyes at all.

"Oh?" Hari looked back at the match.

"My data tells me that you know more about tennis than we are led to think," Inui stated.

Hari smirked before she blanked her face and glanced over at Inui who was looking at her with a curious look on his face.

"I'm afraid I have no idea what you're talking about," Hari answered smiling innocently.

"My data never lies," he said.

"Hm," Hari shrugged.

40-0.

Hari blinked when she saw the way Ibu moved like he was actually going to try to counter the serve, she leaned forward slightly as she watched almost unconsciously.

"He's really going to do it…" Hari muttered.

He did it and he countered the twist serve, and Hari started to smile as she realised that this match really wasn't going to be easy for Ryoma. She always enjoyed watching him play when he had to work for it, and she knew he liked to be challenged as well.

Of course, Ryoma managed to counter again and got the last point that won him the game.

...

"Seeing his eyes takes me back," Ryuzaki commented making Hari look over at her where she was sitting on the bench watching the match. She had a small smile on her face as she watched Ryoma and looked like she was seeing something no one else saw.

"Good start, Ryoma," Ryuzaki said. "The opponent is probably having a nightmare. But you can wake up. That's when things turn critical."

"It's good that he can be calm like that," Fuji said.

"It's good to feel nervous sometimes as well, though," Kikumaru said.

Hari smiled again thinking that they were a good team and she felt a stab of longing and sadness for her own, but she pushed it away again as she turned to look at Ryoma. She had him and she was getting back into playing tennis.

"Eh," Hari blinked.

"What?" Inui said.

"Ibu-san is talking to himself again," Hari said tilting her head as she looked at him. He had done that when she had collided with him as well. She frowned. "He's more dangerous now…"

Inui looked down at his notebook and started to write, but Hari didn't pay him any attention as she kept looking at Ibu. She couldn't hear what he was saying, but the look in his eyes told her enough. He was not as shaken as many would like to think. Ryoma hadn't won the match yet.

...

"Huh," was all Hari said.

So he could do it too… she really shouldn't be as surprised as she felt. She glanced over at Tachibana who was seated on the bench and looked calm and confident. But, there was something different about his serve, Hari thought.

"Of course there are other players beside Ryo-chan who can do it," Hari said having heard Sakuno's question and glanced over at the younger girl. "Though, I must admit that I am surprised to find another one at this level…"

"You're still hiding something from me," Ibu said loud enough that Hari heard him.

"So he knows…" Hari smiled.

"Knows?" Sakuno asked timidly.

"That Ryoma's not playing with his best hand," Hari answered.

Ryoma smirked before he shifted his racket from his right hand and over to his left.

Hari laughed again seeing the shock and this time even Tachibana showed a reaction. It was so much fun to watch the others get surprised like this. She saw the excited looks from Seigaku who knew very well that Ryoma was normally a left-handed player, but the shock from Fudomine was the best part.

...

"That boy is identical to his dad," Ryuzaki commented as they watched Ryoma and Ibu rally.

"Oh, yeah," Hari suddenly said making the regulars look over at her as she leaned against the low wall staring at Ryuzaki. "You're Nanjiro's old coach, right?"

"Nanjiro…?" Oishi looked confused. "Echizen's dad?"

"Ah," Ryuzaki nodded looking over at Hari. "Has he been talking about me?"

Hari grinned, "he calls you 'the old hag'."

Ryuzaki huffed annoyed, "that lazy brat."

"But you were the one who got him to become a pro," Hari said. "He told me."

"Echizen's father was a pro?" Oishi looked shocked.

Hari looked at him and noticed that even Tezuka was paying attention now. She shared a look with Ryuzaki before she smiled.

"What kind of player was he? Was he an attack specialist like Echizen-san?" Oishi asked.

"He doesn't have the word 'endure' in his vocabulary," Ryuzaki said, "all he knew was how to attack. He is unbelievable. He had natural tennis sense along with speed and power. Above all, he had a unique way of absorbing knowledge."

"Eh?" Hari blinked at him as if she was confused. "You mean you haven't connected Ryo-chan's last name yet? Echizen Nanjiro is Ryo-chan's dad. Ryo-chan learned all he knows from ou-, Nanjiro."

She frowned as she almost slipped and said 'otousan', but she wasn't quite able to use the term for him. She wasn't sure he would welcome it nor if she felt comfortable addressing him as 'otousan', even if she caught herself almost doing so in her mind both for him and Rinko.

"He really exceeded all of my expectations," Ryuzaki added not noticing Hari spacing out.

Hari tuned out the rest of their conversation as she focused on Ryoma again, but her mind wouldn't quite let go of the almost slip of the tongue. Could it be that she really was starting to view Ryoma's parents as her own..? She fisted her hands.

She watched as Ryoma and Ibu continued to play and took once more comfort in Ryoma's play.

...

Hari glanced down at Sakuno who looked so happy and awed as she stared at Ryoma. Hari couldn't help but smile as she saw the look.

"Having fun, Sakuno-chan?" Hari asked.

"Mm!" Sakuno nodded not taking her eyes off Ryoma. "He looks like he's having fun!"

Hari looked back at Ryoma who looked determined.

"He does," Hari agreed. "You learn anything from watching him, Sakuno-chan?"

"Eh? What do you mean?" Sakuno asked.

"Well, you joined the tennis team, right?" Hari asked.

"Hai," Sakuno nodded confused.

"Watching Ryo-chan play should be a good opportunity to learn more about tennis," Hari told the younger girl. She always learned more by watching Ryoma play.

Sakuno looked thoughtful so Hari let her be as she focused back on Ryoma.

"4-1, Echizen lead!"

...

While Hari heard the others talk relaxed and all she was not so sure it was quite over yet, her eyes focused on Ibu who looked more determined and she wondered… her eyes shifted over to Tachibana and while he looked thoughtful and maybe a little worried he didn't look quite as worried as Hari would have thought he would. It was like he thought Ibu had something more…something else. But he did look at Ryoma with something in his eyes that had Hari believe he was surprised that he actually was this good.

Hari noticed the shift in Tachibana's expression and he suddenly looked…worried? No, that wasn't quite right, stunned or surprised was more like it. Hari looked back to the game and saw the smile on Ibu's lips making her frown. Just what was he doing? She heard Fuji say something about topspin and backhand, but she didn't pay him any attention as she stared at Ibu.

"What?" Hari mumbled before frowning.

That was a ball Ryoma normally would have caught. Then why hadn't he? She looked at Ryoma who was opening and closing his hand while he stared at it like he couldn't quite believe what he saw or what had just happened.

They continued like that for a little while and Hari could see Ryoma getting frustrated by his sudden inability to move making him unable to return the ball.

That's when it happened.

Her breath caught as she watched Ryoma twist his body to return the ball, which would have been a creative and brilliant way to counter the move from Ibu, only…his grip was loose and he lost his grip on the racket.

Hari froze, unable to move even as she watched the racket flew out of his hand and collide with the pole before breaking into pieces and the handle flew back toward Ryoma.

Do something! Her mind screamed at her as she watched horrified, her magic reached out on its own and she was barely aware that it happened.

But it was too late, her magic only managed to move the handle of the racket slightly higher avoiding the eye but still hit him just below his eyebrow.

Hari didn't hear the murmurs from the crowd or Sakuno sobbing next to her, she didn't see Ryuzaki stand from the bench or hear the others murmur Ryoma's name, she didn't hear or see any of it as she stared at Ryoma and the blood. All the blood… flashes of blood and a snake crossed her mind, as well as chess set and Ron's unconscious figure, but she pushed it out. She fisted her hands as she did her best to push the memories away.

Ryoma….Ryoma was fine, Hari told herself in her mind, he was conscious. He was fine. He was right there and she could see him move and breathe… her breath slowed some and she felt herself calm down slightly as she kept her eyes on her brother.

Ryoma was sitting down on his knees leaned forward slightly and he was holding a hand over his eyes and blood was running freely past his fingers and down his hand dripping to the ground creating puddles of blood.

A movement at her side had her shaken out of her horror and frozen state and she suddenly realised that Sakuno was jumping over the low wall running toward Ryoma. Hari didn't think as she jumped over the wall and easily caught Sakuno around the middle stopping her from entering the court.

"Let go of me!" Sakuno cried. "Ryoma-kun!"

Hari didn't let go even when the girl thrashed about in her arms, but Hari was stronger.

"Let go of me!" Sakuno cried again. "I have to help Ryoma-kun!"

Hari tensed even more and gritted her teeth as she pulled the girl farther away from Ryoma.

"Ryo-chan won't like it," Hari said.

"But…but he has to get to the hospital," Sakuno protested.

"…" Hari watched as Ryoma got to his feet again and picked up his cap from the ground and hit it against his leg to dust off the dirt from it. He glanced at Hari and she swallowed as she saw the blood still running.

"Look! He's really hurt!" Sakuno exclaimed and fought to break free from Hari. "Don't you even care?!"

Sakuno felt how Hari's arm around her waist tensed even more and looked to see her clenching her hand so hard that her knuckles were white. She managed to turn to look up at Hari's face and saw the tight look on her face and how pale she looked.

Why had she stopped her when Hari looked like she wanted to run over to Ryoma as well? Hari must want to rush over to him even more than what she would, Sakuno realised, but she didn't. She even kept Sakuno from doing it. But why? Just because Ryoma wouldn't like it?

"Calm down, Sakuno," Ryuzaki said having paused beside them. She frowned at her granddaughter and Sakuno opened her mouth to say something. "It's not that Hari-san doesn't care, but she understands that it's an insult to the player if the fans start to heckle you during a match."

"But…"

"No, if you're my granddaughter you should remember that;" Ryuzaki said giving her a stern look before looking over at Hari for a moment. "We'll take care of him."

She walked over to Ryoma and told him they would see if they could stop the bleeding.

Hari let go of Sakuno and followed Ryoma and Ryuzaki over to the bench without saying anything else to the younger girl who was left standing there staring after them.

"Here," Hari said taking the pads from Oishi who was about to try to stop the bleeding.

"You sure?" Oishi asked giving her a worried look.

"Yes," Hari nodded.

She started to clean the wound and luckily saw that there was nothing wrong with the eyeball, but the wound was deep and blood continued to run. She frowned slightly as she tossed another blood-soaked bandage away and grabbed a new one.

She wished she could heal like Madam Pomphrey, but then again she would have trouble hiding it from the muggles around them. She frowned slightly as she did the best she could with muggle means, at least she had learned some first aid over the years.

"The bleeding won't stop," Hari finally said. "The eyeball is not hurt at all, the damage is to the eyelid."

She held a bandage to the wound to give some pressure to it and hopefully stop the bleeding.

"How is it, Echizen-san?" Tezuka asked making Hari look up to see the Captain looking at her. He looked worried.

"Well…" Hari started.

"Oy! Echizen! I'm going to put your broken racket in your bag!" Momoshiro interrupted what Hari was about to say.

"Momo-sempai!" Ryoma called.

"Eh?"

"Take out the spare while you're at it," Ryoma said.

Hari looked at him and met his eye when he opened it to look at her, she ignored the reactions from the others as she kept her focus on Ryoma.

"Hari?" Ryoma said. "You can do something, right?"

She frowned, but he met her eyes with a pleading look on his own.

"It's absurd to play with such an injury!" Oishi exclaimed.

"Don't force yourself," Inui added, "it's too much of a handicap."

Hari ignored them as she looked at Ryoma who met her eyes with a determined look in the one he could open. She heard the referee say something about not letting him play if he couldn't stop the bleeding.

"I'll play!" Ryoma said wiping the wound after Hari let go of him.

"Honestly," Hari muttered making the others look at her. She turned to Ryuzaki."Ryuzaki-sensei," she said making the coach arch a brow at her. "If I can stop the bleeding will you allow him to play?"

"You can do it?" Ryuzaki asked.

"I've treated enough small injuries like this before, so yeah," Hari nodded. "I can stop the bleeding for a little while at least."

Ryuzaki gave her a look before she nodded.

Hari turned to Ryoma who smiled at her.

"You're being stubborn, Ryo-chan," Hari muttered.

"You're one to talk," Ryoma shot back making Hari smile slightly.

"Sit down, Ryo-chan," Hari sighed and when he did she got to work. "This will hurt, Ryo-chan."

He grimaced but nodded.

Five minutes later she pulled back and revealed Ryoma with a bandage covering his left eye.

"Well, that should work," Hari said. "But I still think you need to see a hea-, I mean a doctor, but the bandage should hold for about ten minutes."

Hari stood back and watched as Oishi stopped Momoshiro from giving Ryoma the racket, the Vice-Captain didn't say anything as he stared at Ryoma. Before he could say anything, though, Tezuka grabbed the racket from Momoshiro who blinked at him but the Captain ignored him and focused his eyes on Ryoma.

"Ten minutes," he said. "If you haven't finished it in ten minutes you will forfeit."

"Tezuka!" Oishi protested.

"Got it?" Tezuka stayed focused on Ryoma.

"More than enough time," Ryoma smirked as he grabbed the racket.

Even when they let him play they looked worried and it was clear to Hari that many of them would prefer if Ryoma didn't play, but they allowed it. She saw the worried looks and again thought they were a good team.

Hari smiled slightly as Kaido threw Ryoma his cap still looking angry, but the concern and support were clear in his action. She walked over to Ryoma and looked at him for a moment before she reached out and ruffled his hair.

"Hari!" Ryoma protested swatting at her hand with a glare.

"If you get injured again I will personally drag you off the court, Ryo-chan," she smiled at him but he swallowed and nodded. "Have fun, Ryo-chan."

...

"Are you ok, Hari-san?" Oishi asked when Ryoma entered the court again.

Hari glanced at the other boy and saw the worried look on his face as he watched her.

"Hai," she said.

"You're pale," Oishi fretted. "Perhaps you should sit down."

Hari shook her head, "I'm fine, Oishi-sempai. Sorry to worry you."

"But…" Oishi frowned.

"It was just a shock seeing Ryo-chan injured like that," Hari said quietly and clenched her hands. "I…"

She had felt helpless. She had wanted to do something to prevent her first friend, now brother, from getting injured. Yet, she hadn't been able to do anything other than watch and then help him get back out there. Perhaps she wasn't any better than her friends from her Quidditch team. Did she only care for Ryoma winning the game?

No, that wasn't why she had helped him. It was because it had been what Ryoma had wanted and she knew he was stubborn, more so than her. She hadn't been able to fight the determination she saw in his eyes when he looked at her. He wasn't only doing this for himself, Hari knew. He was doing it for his team and his friends. She hadn't been able to ignore it.

"He's fine," Momoshiro said nudging her shoulder, "didn't you patch him up, Hari-chan?"

Hari nodded but she still felt a little tense, but there was nothing more to do now.

...

Hari didn't really notice that she remained with the regulars as Ryoma continued his match, but Momoshiro and Kaido stood beside her seemed to give her support or something. She smiled slightly as she took in the awed looks as the crow realised that Ryoma was still strong and his speed had increased.

15-0.

Still, as cocky as ever, Hari thought fondly slowly coming out of her own thoughts as she heard Ryoma make a comment to Ibu who looked annoyed.

...

Ryoma was struggling. It was painful to watch and Hari bit down on her lip as she watched him miss yet another ball. She could clearly see that the mental stress was also getting to him, and she was not surprised. It would be too much for anyone, but she had faith that Ryoma would figure it out.

"Is this really okay, Tezuka?" Hari heard Oishi ask. "Wouldn't it be better to take him out of the game?"

"Don't worry," Tezuka said making Hari glance over at him to see him looking determinedly at Ryoma and she saw the belief he held in Ryoma in his eyes, yet there was also something like calculation there as well. He was testing something, Hari was sure of it.

"Tezuka!" Oishi exclaimed.

"It's fine, Oishi-sempai," Hari spoke up making him look over at her. "Ryo-chan will figure it out soon."

"Hari-chan…" Oishi frowned.

Hari smiled at him, "look."

She looked back to Ryoma and knew Oishi did the same and they both saw that Ryoma had started to jump up and down as he waited for Ibu to serve.

"Ne, sorry to bother you while you talk," Ryoma called out making Hari smile hearing the arrogant tone in his voice, "but can you hurry up and serve? I have to beat you in a little over three minutes."

She saw the annoyed look that crossed Ibu's face before he served the ball, but this time Ryoma returned it. They hit the ball back and forth a few times.

"I don't like the balls that go up and down," Ryoma said, "but I've found two weak spots to your strategy."

"Nani?" Ibu exclaimed as he returned the ball.

"Have you ever used it against a Nitouryuu player before?" Ryoma asked before tossing the racket from his left hand to his right.

"There," Hari smiled and noticed that even Tezuka showed a moment of surprise even as he covered it up again soon. "That's it."

...

"This is crazy, how can anyone anticipate the direction of the ball and switch hands?" Ishida asked making Tachibana frown in thought before his eyes went wide as he saw the way the freshman's feet moved.

One-footed split step! Tachibana felt the shock hit him. Just who was this kid?! What reflexes he had. Tachibana couldn't help but admire the kid, even if he was on the other team, but that didn't mean that he didn't want Ibu to beat him.

He could see that Ibu was struggling, he couldn't hit his topspin and that was all down to the fact that Ryoma had managed to seal his move and effectively ruin his spot.

"Amazing," An gasped.

"He's sealed Shinji's spot? What a guy, despite the injury," Kamio said.

"Seigaku's Echizen Ryoma," Tachibana said.

Ryoma won the game and had only one more to win before he would win the match, Tachibana though, but that didn't mean it would be easy. Ibu was the kind who would fight with everything he got.

He noticed the worried calls for the freshman from the Seigaku's side of the crowd and quickly saw the reason why. He was bleeding again. Tachibana sighed sadly as he wondered what the other team would do, but he didn't think they would pull him out.

He glanced over at the other bench and noticed that the girl they had met earlier, the one who had collided with Ibu and An had called Hari, was standing up with a tense posture and her hands fisted together as she stared intently at Ryoma.

He also noticed that the one Kamio had played, Kaido, was awkwardly patting her shoulder making her shoot him a small smile before looking back at the match. He hadn't really been shocked to see her again, she had said she was with Seigaku, but he had been surprised when he realised she was somehow connected with Ryoma. It was clear from the way they interacted, and Tachibana had to admit that he was curious.

"Hari-chan looks worried," An commented.

"I wonder how she knows the kid," Kamio added a small frown on his face, "she did look rather pale when he got hurt, but she still stopped that other girl from rushing onto the court."

Tachibana didn't say anything, but he had also seen the fear and worry in her green eyes that were still enchanting even behind the glasses she wore. Her auburn hair was framing her face making it look even paler in comparison.

"…" Tachibana blinked. That last smash was just like a twist serve. He had never seen anything like it before. He let out a soft sigh.

"Game and match, Seigaku, Echizen!"

They had lost. It stung, but they had done their best and he was sure they had learned a lot from this game.

...

Tachibana watched his team feeling proud as they talked with Seigaku and didn't seem to be too down from their loss. Though, he was sure they were all disappointed.

"Ryo-chan!" Hari suddenly appeared and attached herself to Ryoma's neck making Tachibana pause as he looked at them.

"Hari…" Ryoma sighed but didn't move to shake her off.

"You made me worry, baka," she turned to look up at him her head resting on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry," Ryoma said and Tachibana arched a brow, he didn't seem like the type too actually apologize to anyone.

"Echizen-kun, I feel bad about the injury to your eye," Ibu spoke up making both Hari and Ryoma look up and stare at them. "Are you okay? But that wasn't even my fault. Ah, I see now, you did that to yourself, I'm absolutely sure. On purpose…I'm getting tired of this…"

Hari blinked as the last parts of the sentence was more like mumbles to himself but they could clearly hear what he was saying.

"Shinji!" Tachibana interrupted sharply.

"Sorry," Ibu said.

"Mada mada dane," Ryoma said as he lowered his head and pulled at his cap (or the best he could manage with Hari still attached around his neck).

"You did well today," Hari smiled at them, though, her eyes lingered a little longer on Ibu before she looked back at Tachibana. "I look forward to seeing you play again, Tachibana-san."

"Thank you," Tachibana said.

"Hari, let go of me already!" Ryoma finally sighed, "you're heavy."

"I can't believe you just called me heavy," Hari pouted at him but she let go and instead grabbed his cap and put it on her own head.

"Hari!" Ryoma snapped. "Give it back!"

Tachibana blinked as they both disappeared down the path, Hari running in front of Ryoma with his cap still on her head and he was sure he saw her sticking her tongue out at him as well. She was an odd one, he thought, but he couldn't help but feel intrigued. She was hiding something he was sure, he wondered if she played tennis at all.

"Sorry about them," a voice said and he looked to the side to see the rest of Seigaku's regulars standing there.

"It's fine," Tachibana said.

They stared at each other for a moment and Tachibana met Tezuka's eyes. He was strong and it was too bad they didn't have a chance to play, but there would be other opportunities. Tachibana was sure about that.

...

Hari smiled relieved when the doctor cleared Ryoma and said he was fine, she felt lighter as she followed Ryoma and Ryuzaki as well as Sakuno out of the hospital and to their next location. Neither she nor Ryoma talked much as they did.

"Eh? Sushi?" Ryoma asked when they stopped in front of a sushi place. A note saying it was sold out was hanging on the door.

"Hurry," Ryuzaki urged.

Ryoma gave a sigh before he slid the door open and the noise from the tennis team hit them and Hari could see the chaos going on inside, Momoshiro and Kikumaru standing for most of the noise (no surprise there).

Ryoma closed the door and turned to walk away making Hari's lips twitch amused. Before he could get more than one step away the door was slid open again and Momoshiro was there grabbing Ryoma's collar and yanking him inside.

Hari followed with a small laugh.

She looked around and saw that it was a nice Sushi restaurant and looked to be quite traditional, she saw one man standing behind the counter looking like the owner. He did look familiar, Hari thought.

"Where is this?" Hari asked.

"It's my family restaurant," Kawamura answered having appeared next to her.

"Oh," Hari blinked surprised. "It's very nice."

"Thank you," Kawamura smiled shyly but looked pleased, "that's my dad over there. I help him run it when I have time. I want to learn how to make Sushi like he does. Oh…I'm sorry."

"Why are you sorry?" Hari asked confused she had enjoyed hearing him talk, she hadn't really talked much with him before.

"I didn't mean to go on about it," Kawamura said rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "You're probably not interested."

"Eh? I'm interested," Hari smiled at him. "I think it sounds really fun. I cooked for my relatives before, it was some of the only things I enjoyed doing at their place. Is it hard to make Sushi?"

Kawamura looked surprised for a moment before he smiled more warmly and started to talk about making Sushi making Hari lean forward slightly as she listened.

"Maybe you could teach me one day?" Hari asked hopefully. "It sounds really great."

"Sure," he said.

Hari found that she enjoyed herself as the party continued. She did keep close to Ryoma, but that was mostly because she was still worried about him even if she had relaxed some, but she did talk with the rest of the team and found that they were quite fun.

They could also create more chaos than the Gryffindor's after a win for the Quidditch game and that was saying something. In the centre of the chaos was mostly Kikumaru and Momoshiro, not that Hari was surprised by that.

 **...**

 **...**

 **AN:** **Ok... first of all, I'm sorry for the wait! I really didn't mean for it to be two weeks! I must admit that I struggled a little with this chapter. Wasn't sure how I wanted to do it or where to focus, and I'm not 100% happy with it, but it's good enough. I have decided to deviate from my original plan on only using Hari's point of view because I found that I wanted to show other POV as well, so as you noticed you got some insight from other characters as well in this chapter.**

 **...**

 **Now, about the pairing for this story. I have made my decision and I must say; it was unbelievably difficult to make up my mind and decide who I wanted to pair Hari with. I wanted them all, but unfortunately, I can't do that. I had to pick one. A reviewer asked in one of the reviews about what kind of pairing I believed I could write the best. I liked that, and I spent time thinking and trying to plan. It was also difficult because only Fuji has shown up so far in the story and I haven't actually gotten to write scenes where Hari interact with Sanada or Yukimura yet.**

 **...**

 **Before I tell you who the pairing will be I want to thank you all for letting me know who you wanted for Hari in a pairing. I can't thank you enough and I really wished I could make all of you happy and say that I picked your pairing. I really liked reading the reasons some of you gave and it was really helpful. So, THANK YOU! :)**

 **...**

 **The final pairing will be: Hari/Yukimura.**  
 **The reason for this is mostly because I really like his character and I can picture him with Hari really well. Also, I decided that I wanted to pair her with someone who wasn't on her team or her school. I believe he and Hari will fit together well. Not to mention that I can't help but think about Seigaku's reaction to Hari dating and join Ryoma in overprotective brother act.**  
 **(I might have Hari dating someone else before Yukimura, haven't decided that yet).**

 **...**

 **Ok, thank you so much for reading and hope you'll keep reading! I will try not to let it go two weeks before the next update. :) Also thank you for the reviews I've gotten! It means a lot! I do try to answer the reviews the best I can, at least those who allow PM. I'm sorry if I have forgotten someone. Also, thank you to guests who review. I don't have the ability to answer to you in a PM, but I appreciate your reviews all the same. If you have a question or something you'd like me to reply too please leave a nickname or something and I'll add the reply at the end of the next chapter :)**

 **...**

 **Japanese words used:**  
 **Otousan - dad**  
 **Hai - yes**  
 **Nani - what**  
 **Nitouryuu - a player who can use both hands**  
 **baka - fool**


	9. Getting lostagain

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Prince of Tennis!**

 **...**

 **...**

"Miss? Miss?"

Hari blearily opened her eyes to find a train conductor standing over her with a polite smile on his lined face. She jerked up slightly as she looked around herself.

"Eh?" Hari mumbled.

"We're at the end stop now, miss," the man said.

"End…station?" Hari repeated.

"Yes, miss, we're at Chiba station now," the man said. "You have to get off."

He continued down the train and she realised that she was one of the last people on the train and one more thing…Chiba. She had no idea where Chiba even was and now she was there?

"Maji de," Hari sighed as she grabbed her racket bag and got off the train. It was mildly busy with people buzzing around and she looked around trying to gather herself as she realised that she was lost.

Okay. She was seriously starting to consider that she might have a problem. Though, she would never admit that to Ryoma. Not a chance she would admit that to him. She stared at the large sign reading: CHIBA.

She had been downtown Tokyo meeting Hisakawa from Magical Child Service and worked out more about her homeschooling and how she was going to meet up with a tutor now and then for some part of the schedule. Then she was supposed to take a train back home and where she was going to meet Ryoma and Momoshiro for a fun day with tennis.

Only now she somehow found herself in Chiba. Chiba…ok, repeating it in her head wouldn't change the fact. She had to get back.

She was hopeless, Hari sighed to herself. How could she board the wrong train and not even notice it when the train conductor came to check the ticket? Wait, had he checked her ticket? She had been tired because she hadn't slept much the night before. So, she had fallen asleep against her efforts of staying awake. Had he just let her sleep? She couldn't remember…

So, now she had to find the ticket box and find out when the train back to Tokyo left.

...

Three hours, Hari mused. Three hours until the next train to Tokyo left and she was now stuck here for at least three hours. She really had bad luck. She was already bored where she sat on an uncomfortable plastic chair in the noisy waiting room. A small child was crying in the corner and a young couple argued in the other corner making Hari close to losing her mind. She was already tired and snappy because of her lack of sleep.

Finally, she'd had enough and grabbed her racket bag and left the waiting room and the station altogether. She felt the fresh air hit her as she moved outside and she felt slightly better. She would take a walk and clear her mind as she waited for the time to pass.

She walked and walked and noticed that the buildings grew farther apart as she did, and she looked around curiously. She had (obviously) never been here before and maybe this was a chance to look see more of Japan.

She noticed a tennis court and smiled to herself as she made her way over to it. It was empty so she put her bag down and pulled out her racket and tennis ball. She bounced the ball on the racket and smiled lightly.

Her mind went back to the last week when she had joined the girl's tennis team the first day after the tournament and she had been welcomed warmly enough, but…

...

 _-Flashback-_

" _Everyone! This is Echizen Hari," Yoshida Satomi introduced Hari to the team. "Please treat her well!"_

 _Hari bowed to them as they yelled the appropriate: "Hai!"_

" _Echizen?" another girl asked leaning forward slightly, "any relation to Echizen Ryoma?"_

" _Hai," Hari deadpanned._

" _How?" yet another girl asked._

" _He's my brother," Hari said without explaining or commenting when she saw the doubtful looks they exchanged. They didn't need to know and Hari wasn't going to explain it when she didn't know them._

" _Um, right," Yoshida said breaking the awkward silence that stretched. "Like I told you, I'm the Captain and that is Hashimoto Haruka, the vice-captain. Ueda Sora is the girl next to her and also one of the regulars."_

 _Hari nodded and bowed her head to them since they were her seniors._

 _..._

" _So…don't you think Fuji is cute?"_

" _I know! His eyes are so amazing… did you see them last time?"_

"… _I really like Tezuka-Captain… he's so stern and mature!"_

 _Hari glanced at the gushing girls and their rackets that still was lying unused on the ground. She sighed as she tightened her grip on her own racket and started to do the swing practice they had been told to do._

 _..._

" _Do you want to come to the mall with me today?" Ueda Sora asked._

" _Mall? Yes!" Fukui grinned. "I really need a new skirt."_

" _You have a new date with your boyfriend?" Matsuoka asked joining in on the conversation._

" _Hai! He's taking me to a new restaurant," Fukui squealed._

 _Hari ran past them and ignored the looks she received as she continued on her way around the courts on her own. She pushed herself harder as she passed another group of girls that was jogging while talking together._

 _..._

" _She's not very social, is she?" Yamamato Hanoko whispered to Yoshida._

"…" _Yoshida said nothing but Hari could feel her eyes on her back, but she pretended that she couldn't hear what they were saying._

" _I mean… she's always running or doing the exercises," Yamamato continued. "I mean, that is good but she could take the time to actually talk with us too. She's acting like she's too good for us or something."_

" _She's dedicated to tennis," Yoshida said._

" _It's not like she'll be playing, though," Yamamato snorted. "She's not even a regular and just a new girl."_

" _Hey, she's good," Yoshida said a little sharply. "I would have liked it if more of you showed the same dedication to practice like she does."_

" _What…" Yamamato trailed off shocked._

 _Hari looked down at her shoes and leaned down to tie her shoelaces like she hadn't just overheard that conversation._

 _\- End Flashback -_

 _..._

Well, it was really clear to Hari that they didn't share her interest or love for tennis. It was clear that most of them were in it because it got them closer to the boys. She was…disappointed. She would admit that Yoshida was slightly different and seemed to see that Hari was not really happy with how the team was and had actually taken the time to talk to her.

...

 _\- Flashback -_

" _Ohayo, Echizen-san," Yoshida smiled when Hari entered the changing room. "You're here early."_

" _Ohayo, Yoshida-captain," Hari bowed politely to her. "So are you."_

" _I had a meeting with Ryuzaki-sensei," Yoshida smiled and sat down next to where Hari sat. "How are you settling in on the team, Echizen-san?"_

 _Hari shrugged not wanting to say anything._

" _Well, you're doing well," Yoshida said when it was clear Hari wasn't saying anything. "I'm impressed by the work you do, Echizen-san."_

 _Hari glanced at her. "Thank you, Yoshida-captain."_

" _I know it must be disappointing for you," Yoshida suddenly said looking away from her. "The girls' team are good, but we're not like the boys. We work differently than them."_

 _Hari nodded without saying anything._

" _I hope you'll find a way to get along with them," Yoshida said before getting up and leaving the changing room._

 _-End Flashback-_

 _..._

She had tried, but found herself bored and not really fitting in with them when her lack of knowledge about muggle things and her wish to actually practice and get better at tennis became too visible. It wasn't that she didn't like the girls, but it was just harder for her to find something to bond over with them, so she kept to herself.

Even back at Hogwarts she had found it easier to relate to the boys for some reason. She just wasn't interested in what most girls seemed to be interested in. It wasn't that she looked down at them, it was just…she felt at loss on how to relate and act around them. When Lavender and Parvati gushed about the cute boys in their year or above them she just didn't understand the appeal and quickly lose interest in their conversation. Hermione was different from them and seemed more interested in books and learning so Hari had an easier time to relate to her, and…the troll incident also helped to build their friendship.

She didn't say that she wasn't friends with other girls at Hogwarts, because she was. Hari did like Ginny, Ron's little sister, well enough. Though the girl seemed to be unable to actually speak with her and the basilisk-thing had kind of made that even harder. But Hari would call the other girl a friend; she did remember Ginny standing up for her at Flourish and Blotts the bookshop at Diagon Alley back before her second year (Ginny's first year). If only she would be able to stop seeing the Girl-Who-Lived and see Hari she knew that Ginny could be a good friend.

She could talk with some of the girls from Hufflepuff, like Hannah Abbott and Susan Bones, but she wasn't sure she would categorize them as friends. She remembered a little too well how they had blamed her for the Chamber and turned on her over it. That wasn't what friends did.

And then there were the girls from the Quidditch team and Hari felt a bang of loneliness and hurt. She had always felt…on the outside of their friendship. Not to say that they hadn't been nice to her…well, besides the time in her first year when they all had been angry at her.

Pushing the depressing thoughts away she focused on the positive thing with her situation with the team right now and that was Sakuno. Sakuno would sometimes join Hari when she ran around the courts, more laps than the rest of the team would run, but the girl wasn't used to Hari's pace nor had her stamina so she would get tired quicker and fall behind. Though, Hari saw the effort and took notice of it making an effort to help Sakuno when she could, seeing the girl being genuinely interested in the sport.

She hadn't said anything to Ryoma about how she felt or how alone she was because the others noticed that she was not into their gossip. Not during practice at least. She had wanted to play games and get a challenge, but so far…no games or even a trace of a challenge. She hadn't told him because she didn't want to sound like she was complaining or look like she was expecting more than she should.

She hoped that it would change, but so far it didn't look too good.

...

Thump. Thump. Thump.

The sound of a tennis ball had him pausing on his way back from morning practice and on his way home. He glanced over at the normally abandoned court (most in the neighbourhood preferring to use the court by the school) and saw a most unusual sight.

A petite looking girl with auburn hair pulled back in a ponytail wearing a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt that was slightly loose was hitting a tennis ball against the wall without missing a beat. He stopped and watched her as she moved and saw the smile she let out as she managed to hit a particularly difficult ball and got back into rhythm.

"Okay," he heard her mutter. "Like Nanjiro does it… Muda da…"

The ball bounced over her and landed by his feet making him glance down at the yellow ball that looked rather ruffled and well used, before looking up to see a pair of green eyes hidden behind a pair of glasses.

"Anou," the girl said tilting her head slightly as she looked at him. "sumimasenga…"

She spoke Japanese? He had expected to have to talk English with her, but it looked like he wouldn't need to. That was a relief.

"Gomen," he smiled at her and picked up the ball before taking a step closer to her. "I couldn't help but stop and watch you… you looked really focused."

She smiled slightly and rubbed the back of her head sheepishly.

"Oh, well, I guess I was," she admitted. "Did you plan on using the court?"

He saw her look at his bag and knew she must think he was on his way to play. He shook his head.

"No, I was just on my way back from tennis practice," he admitted.

"Oh," she nodded and he tossed her the ball again making her smile at him as she caught it. "Thanks."

He nodded and couldn't help but wonder who she was. He hadn't seen her before.

"Do you attend a school nearby?" he asked curiously.

She looked slightly surprised that he was continuing the conversation, and he must admit that he felt rather surprised himself as well.

"No, I attend a school in Tokyo," she admitted and for some reason, she looked annoyed. But why would she look annoyed because of that? And what was she doing here then?

"Really? Are you here visiting or something?" he asked.

She shook her head and looked away before looking back at him and he was now sure she looked embarrassed.

"No, never been here before," she said. "I got…lost."

"Lost?" he repeated.

"Mm," she nodded solemnly, "but it wasn't my fault, honest! I just… got on the wrong train."

He stared at her before he laughed. He couldn't help it, but it was funny and she was scowling at him now so he better stop. He coughed trying to cover it, but she still scowled.

"Laugh it up," she grumbled, "but Ryo-chan will never let me forget it and will probably forbid me from taking the train by myself again."

He had no idea who this Ryo-chan was but he couldn't help but wonder if that might be the safest.

"Sorry," he smiled. "Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Saeki Kojiro, yoroshiku!"

"Echizen Hari, yoroshiku!" Hari smiled back.

Well, Echizen was a Japanese name, he thought as he looked at her. Maybe one of her parents was Japanese? He didn't ask because it wasn't any of his business but he was curious.

...

Hari looked at the boy who had stopped to watch her and that was now looking at her curiously. His hair was a silver-white, but the bottom layer was black so probably some dye that made his hair the unique colour. She had to admit that it fit him pretty well.

"You said you were on your way back from tennis practice?" Hari asked to fill the silence.

"Hai," he smiled and she wondered what kind of a player he was. He looked gentle and pleasant, but that didn't have to mean anything when it came to tennis.

"Want to play a match?" Hari asked unable to hold back her curiosity and really wanted to play a match against someone. He looked surprised but he nodded and put down his bag before pulling out a wooden racket. It looked homemade.

"My coach made this," he said when he noticed her looking at it.

"It looks good," she commented.

Her racket was purple and special to her because it was Ryoma who had picked it out.

They both took their place on either side of the net and Hari won the serve. She looked over and saw him watching her with sharp eyes and her own narrowed slightly. He had talent.

She served the ball and he returned it but she managed to catch up to it with the help of her speed. She hit the ball and made it fall right over the net, but he was already there and returned the favour making her unable to reach it when the ball landed right by the net on her side.

She frowned slightly as she stared at the ball before looking up and saw his smiling face. She shook her head and smiled back.

She served again and they rallied for a little while before she managed to get a point.

She moved and once more she noticed that he seemed to know just how she would react and where the ball would land. She grimaced as she just barely missed the ball he returned.

"1-0 to me," he called.

"Yeah," she admitted. "But it's not over yet."

He smiled.

...

He won, but she did manage to get a couple of games near the end before he finally managed to get the final game he needed. Saeki looked at her feeling rather surprised as he did. He hadn't expected her to be that good, but she was. She wiped her forehead before she looked over at him and smiled.

"You're good," she said. "I was sure you would be, though that motion-thing you have is super annoying."

"Motion-thing?" he repeated amusedly.

"Yes, you know," she said making a vague movement with her hand. "Always being able to read my movement and how the ball will move. It's annoying."

He laughed and she tried to scowl but she smiled and chuckled herself.

"Well, you're not bad yourself," he said.

She smiled at him again and sat down on the bench and looked at the clock before her eyes went wide and she groaned.

"What?" he asked.

"I missed the train," she grumbled. "Argh, I'm so stupid."

"Oh, sorry…" he started to frown feeling bad that she had missed her train.

"It's not your fault," Hari told him quickly. "I forgot the time."

"When will the next one be here?" Saeki asked.

"In two hours," Hari said with a sigh. Just then her phone rang and she pulled it out and grimaced.

"Ouch," she muttered before she answered the phone. "Ryo-chan."

"Where are you?" Ryoma demanded. "We have been waiting for you, Hari."

"Ah, I forgot that I could call you," Hari said aware of Saeki watching her.

"You forgot," Ryoma sighed, "of course you did. Then where are you?"

"Um, well, I don't think I will join you playing tennis today," Hari said vaguely.

"Hari…" Ryoma warned. "Where are you?"

Hari didn't want to say it. She really didn't want to let Ryoma know she had gotten lost again. She saw Saeki look at her curiously.

"Well, about that," Hari coughed. "I swear it wasn't my fault."

"You're lost," Ryoma deadpanned. "Hari…"

"I know where I am," Hari pouted. "Well, now I do."

"Ok, so where are you? I will come and get you," Ryoma said.

"No, you don't need to do that," Hari protested, "I'll find my way home, Ryo-chan. Don't worry."

"That's not going to stop me from worrying," Ryoma said. "Where are you, Hari?"

Hari sighed and dumped down on a nearby bench with a pout.

"Chiba," she admitted knowing better than to lie or to avoid it anymore. Ryoma never let go if he suspected her not telling him something and she really didn't want to lie to him either.

"Chiba." Ryoma repeated. "Chiba. Seriously, Hari!"

"It's not my fault the train got mixed up and I fell asleep," Hari mumbled.

She could hear the sigh from the other end of the phone and grimaced.

"Then when are you coming home?" Ryoma asked. "Do you even know how to?"

"Of course I do," Hari said. "I'm sure I'll find the train station again."

"You left…" Ryoma groaned.

"Hey, I'm not totally useless, you know," Hari protested. "I'll see you tonight, Ryo-chan."

"Fine," he said.

...

"I can show you the way to the train station when you need to leave," Saeki said when she put her phone away.

"Honto?" Hari smiled.

"Hai," Saeki nodded and smiled at her like he found her amusing or maybe it was fascinating? Well, Hari didn't care as she grinned up at him. "But…who are Ryo-chan?"

"My little brother," Hari smiled as she said it. She loved being able to claim Ryoma as her little brother and knowing it was true in a legal way as well.

Saeki nodded and arched a brow when he heard her stomach grumble and she glanced down at her stomach with a small pout.

"Come on, I'll buy you some food," he laughed.

"You're my saviour," Hari declared and picked up her racket that was put back in her bag and stared at him with wide eyes waiting for him to lead the way.

...

"Are you on your schools' tennis team?" Hari asked.

"Yes, I'm Vice-Captain of Rokkaku Middle School," Saeki nodded as he swallowed his ramen. "What about you? What school do you attend in Tokyo?"

Hari looked down and ate more of her ramen before she glanced up at him again. She sighed.

"I attend Seigaku Middle School," she said.

He blinked at her and she saw that it meant something to him as he stared at her. She wasn't sure what though.

"Seigaku? Really?" He asked.

"Mm," she nodded. "Why?"

"I know someone who attends Seigaku," Saeki said. "My childhood friend plays tennis for their team."

"Oh? Who?" Hari asked curiously.

"Fuji Shusuke," Saeki said making her blink. "You know him?"

Hari shrugged, "I haven't been at the school for too long, but I know him. Ryo-chan is on the team with him."

"And are you on the tennis team?" Saeki asked.

"Yeah, the girls' team," Hari said not looking up at him.

Saeki frowned slightly as he took in the sudden depressed look on her and wondered why she suddenly looked like that.

"You don't look happy about that," he observed quietly.

"It's alright, I guess," Hari looked up at him with a disinterested look on her face, but her eyes revealed the pain she was trying to hide. "I just…had expected something else."

"Then why are you on the team?" Saeki asked.

Hari blinked at the question and took a moment to think about it. Why did she join the team?

"I want to be part of something like Ryo-chan is," Hari finally answered. "I watched Ryo-chan and the others play in the tournament and they won. They looked like they had fun and it was challenging for all of them. They all looked like they were part of something and relied on each other as they played. How they cheered each-others on and looked happy. I…I wanted that."

Saeki nodded in understanding, being a part of a team was something he really enjoyed as well.

...

"I think you're really good, Echizen-san," he said pausing on the platform next to the train that was going back to Tokyo. Hari paused and looked at him. "I hope you'll continue playing tennis and that you'll find your fun and happiness somewhere."

Hari smiled at him and nodded.

"I will," she said, "if it's not with the team then I could always play on street courts like I did today. I mean, I met you and got a chance to play someone as good as you this way, right?"

He chuckled.

"Also, I've been thinking," he said calming down. "I think you actually have the same talent as I do, or parts of it."

"Eh?" Hari blinked.

"The Motion Vision," he clarified. "I have thought about it, and I think it's possible that you actually have it as well. You have good eyes and you could tell the way I was going to move as well."

"Really?" Hari smiled.

He nodded.

"Could… could you teach me?" Hari asked nervously.

"You want me to teach you?" he asked surprised.

Hari nodded.

"But I live so far away from you," Saeki said.

"I could come and see you here sometimes," Hari shrugged, "but only if it won't be a bother to you. I don't want to burden you or anything….Ah, forget I asked."

She looked away suddenly embarrassed and bit down on her lower lip in annoyance at herself for letting the question slip out before she could stop herself.

"It's not a bother," he said making her look at him again. "I'd like to play with you again, Echizen-san."

Hari smiled relieved.

...

Hari stared at the door leading to the house that was now her home. It had gotten dark outside now and she was slightly apprehensive about entering the house and face her new family. Would they be angry at her? Would they tell her they didn't want her anymore?

Argh, she wasn't even sure where her nerves were coming from or why she suddenly was worrying about it, she hadn't really thought about it when she was in Chiba. It wasn't until she was on the train back that she had started to worry about Rinko and Nanjiro's reaction to her being gone the whole day and actually going to Chiba. She remembered Hermione telling her that her parents were really worried when she was home for the summer and if she didn't let them know where she was or when she was going to get back.

She opened the door as she took a deep breath and entered the house, it was almost completely silent but she could hear the soft noises from the television. She walked into the living room and saw that both Rinko and Nanjiro were there and both looked up when they heard her.

"Hari-chan," Nanjiro smiled a little but he didn't look like his usual self and that had her wanting to turn and leave.

"You're back," Rinko said getting up and walking over to her. "Are you ok?"

Hari looked down and nodded her head in confirmation. "Yes."

"That's good," Rinko said, "Ryoma said you had gotten lost."

Hari nodded.

"The entire day," Rinko continued.

Hari nodded again.

"He didn't tell us anymore," Nanjiro spoke up and Hari glanced over at him before looking back at the floor. "Where could you have gotten lost that took you so long to get back?"

"Ryo-chan didn't tell you?" Hari asked quietly barely able to look up at them.

"No, he didn't," Rinko said with a small frown, displeased.

"I took the wrong train and ended up in Chiba," Hari admitted.

Silence.

Hari forced herself to look up and saw the shocked and incredulous expressions, though Nanjiro looked almost ready to laugh at the same time looked worried. It made a very amusing expression if she had been calm enough to enjoy it.

"That I didn't expect," Rinko said. "Chiba."

"I know, I guess I was distracted enough when I was going to find my way back to the train to meet Ryo-chan and Momo-chan after my meeting with Hisakawa-san and got on the wrong train," Hari explained, "and I fell asleep and didn't wake until the conductor woke me up saying we were in Chiba."

She continued to tell them that she had gone for a walk while waiting for the train to go back to Tokyo and missed the next one and had to wait even longer. When she finished she looked down ashamed.

"Why didn't you call, Hari?" Rinko asked. "We would want to know."

"I forgot," Hari admitted. "I didn't really think about it. I'm sorry."

Rinko sighed and guided Hari over to the sofa and sat her down. She reached over and put her hand under Hari's chin and lifted it up forcing her to meet the older woman's eyes.

"I understand that you're not used to having someone home that worries about you, Hari," Rinko said, "but you do and if something happens we would want to know. We worry when you're not coming back when you said you would or when we say you have to be back."

Nanjiro nodded and put a hand on Hari's shoulder giving it a gentle squeeze.

Hari nodded, "I'm sorry."

"Are you hungry?" Rinko asked.

"No," Hari shook her head. "I'm just tired."

"Then go to bed for now and we'll talk later," Rinko said.

...

"Hari!" Ryoma entered her room and she looked up from her phone as she had just sent a text to Saeki telling him that she had gotten home safely (he seemed to think she might get lost again).

"Hi Ryo-chan," Hari smiled softly. "I'm sorry for worrying you."

"Hmph," he scoffed and sat down on the edge of her bed. "You're really hopeless, Hari."

Hari shrugged not really in the mood to come with her usual protests. She felt tired and relieved and guilty but she wasn't even sure why.

"So, did you and Momo-chan have a good day?" Hari asked to change the subject. She curled up in her bed with the covers over her lap as she sat leaned against the headboard.

"Well, it was interesting," Ryoma allowed.

"Oh?" she smiled slightly.

"There seems to be plenty of spies around and they were there spying on our practice earlier," Ryoma rolled his eyes.

Hari knew they had a morning practice even if it were Saturday and no school for them. That was why Ryoma hadn't come with her to the meeting (so that she wouldn't get lost on her way).

"What happened?" Hari asked.

Ryoma told her about his and Momoshiro being stalked by two boys from another school and how they had even followed them into a shoe-store and been discovered. Hari had to laugh as Ryoma explained how they had played doubles with them and won easily.

"Sounds like an eventful day," Hari said when he was finished. "I'm sorry I missed it."

"So, how was Chiba?" Ryoma asked.

"It was alright," Hari shrugged. "I played tennis while I waited. I even played against someone and while he won I managed to get a couple of games on him."

"Was he good?" Ryoma asked.

"Yeah," Hari nodded smiling slightly. "He is."

...

Hari groaned when she felt someone suddenly throw an arm around her neck and she scowled at Kikumaru who grinned at her. She had been walking through the halls of the school looking for Ryoma since it was lunch and both Momoshiro and Kaido had disappeared somewhere.

"Hari-chan!" Kikumaru chimed.

"Kikumaru-sempai," Hari said and tried to get lost only to have him hold on tighter. She was seriously starting to wonder if she would stop breathing soon as his arm was squeezing around her neck. "Need…air."

"Eiji!" Oishi sharp voice sounded. "She can't breathe!"

"Oh, sorry!" Kikumaru released her quickly and Hari coughed and rubbed her neck while glaring at him. "Are you okay?"

"Hmph," Hari scoffed. "So, why the sudden attack?"

"I wanted you to come and have lunch with us!" Kikumaru bounced looking like an excited child on Christmas Day.

"I was looking for Ryo-chan," Hari said.

"He's with us outside," Oishi smiled kindly at her.

"Alright," Hari said eying Kikumaru a little wary of a new attack.

They made their way through the school and Hari noticed Yoshida and Hashimoto from the girls' team watching her with pensive looks. She smiled briefly at them but didn't do anything else to greet them.

"Hari-chan is here!" Kikumaru declared loudly as they approached the lawn under a tree where Hari quickly saw the rest of the tennis regulars seated. It wasn't the first time she had joined them for lunch, but it was the first time Kikumaru or anyone besides Ryoma or Momoshiro had invited (dragged) her to it.

"Hari," Ryoma gave her a look.

"Ryo-chan, your friend is scary," Hari said as she fell down next to him and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Hai, hai," Ryoma sighed.

"Did you get home alright on Saturday, Hari-chan?" Momoshiro asked.

"Did you go somewhere, Hari-chan?" Kikumaru asked.

Hari scowled at Ryoma who gave her a bored look.

"Hey, don't look at me like that," Ryoma said, "you were supposed to meet both me and Momo-sempai, remember? He was with me when I called you."

Hari still scowled but shrugged.

"I got home fine," Hari looked at Momoshiro.

"Why aren't you answering me, Hari-chan?!" Kikumaru whined poking at her arm.

"I must admit that I am curious as well," Inui said pushing at his glasses with his notebook opened in his hands. "From my data, I would deduce that you got lost somewhere…"

"Saa," Fuji smiled with his eyes closed like normal. "Where did you get lost to now, Hari-chan?"

Even Tezuka looked slightly curious, or something, but he was looking at her as well so she guessed that meant he was curious. She hadn't met anyone before who was so difficult to read. Well, maybe Dumbledore but that was because he was barmy and eccentric and not because he hid behind a blank mask like Tezuka.

"Chiba," Momoshiro helpfully said when Hari didn't answer. She glared at him but he just smiled.

"Chiba?!"

Hari sighed and once more told her story and wondered why everyone was so obsessed with it.

"Saa, that's amusing," Fuji smiled.

"Are you coming to watch us practice today, Hari-chan?" Kikumaru asked when the lunch hour almost was over and Hari was getting back on her feet having enjoyed her lunch with Ryoma's friends. Maybe they could even be seen as her friends now too. Maybe.

"No, I can't," Hari said despite wanting to, but she had her own practice to go to. She ruffled Ryoma's hair (he swatted her hand away with a glare) and walked away with Kaido and Momoshiro on their way to their next class.

...

Hari stared at the practice match between Yoshida and Hashimoto and thought back on what Saeki had said. Did she really have that motion vision thing that he did? She tried to focus on Yoshida who was clearly the better of the two, and Hari tried to see her moves and predict how she would return the ball.

Hari had always been good at noticing small details that others normally overlooked. That was one of the reasons she was such a good seeker, that and her reflexes.

"Hari-sempai," Sakuno said stopping beside her.

"Hi Sakuno," Hari didn't look away from the match going on as she smiled when she correctly guessed where the ball would go.

Sakuno looked at Hari with a curious look but didn't say anything else. She could see that Hari was really focused on something, but she wasn't sure what it was she was trying to see as she stared at the match going on.

Hari sighed and rubbed her eyes tiredly and glanced at Sakuno who (much to her surprise) still was standing next to her. Hari blinked.

"Ah, did you want something, Sakuno-chan?" Hari asked.

"No, I…um, I didn't want… I just wanted to ask you if you would help me with my swings," Sakuno blushed.

"Sure," Hari said easily enough and grabbed her racket and turned away from the match. She had seen what she needed to and she wanted to play. "Come on."

They started to work on the swings and Hari gently and patiently corrected the other girls' stance and pace. The way Sakuno smiled and seemed to light up made Hari smile as she watched her, unaware of calculating eyes of her captain watching her as she had just finished her own match against Hashimoto.

...

"Satomi?" Yoshida glanced to her side to see her best friend Hashimoto Haruka watching her curiously. "What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking that there's more to Echizen Hari than we see," Yoshida said.

"Oh?" Hashimoto said looking over at Hari who was helping Sakuno with her swings. "I don't really know. She's not really that open."

Yoshida glanced at her, "she's nice when you talk with her."

"I guess," Hashimoto said, "but she keeps mostly to herself, and during lunch, she's pulled with Fuji-chan and the others. I think some of the girls on the team are jealous."

Yoshida nodded, "I've heard their talk."

Hashimoto shrugged, "I don't really know, but I can understand them a little. She seems to fit better with the boys' team than with ours."

Yoshida sighed.

"What are you going to do, Satomi?" Hashimoto asked.

"I think I'll have to play a match with her and take it from there," Yoshida said.

"Really? She's not even one of the regulars," Hashimoto said, "you think she's ready to play against you? You're our best player, Satomi."

"I know, but I keep thinking that…I might not be," Yoshida admitted as she looked at Hari demonstrate a serve for Sakuno with sharp and precise moves and she could once more feel the talent lurking in Hari.

 **...**

 **...**

 **AN:** **What do you think? :)**

 **Sorry, I'm too tired to really leave an author note today. I just wanted to post this before I go to sleep. But thank you for reading and supporting the story.**

 **...**

 **Japanese words used:**  
 **Maji de - Seriously?**  
 **Muda da - It's useless**  
 **anou - say... err...well**  
 **sumimasenga - excuse me**  
 **gomen - sorry**  
 **Yoroshiku - Nice to meet you**  
 **Honto - Really**  
 **Hai - Yes**  
 **Ohayo - Good morning**  
 **Saa - filler**


	10. Leaving the team?

**I don't own Harry Potter or the Prince of Tennis!**

 **...**

 **...**

Hari sat on her office chair by her window looking out into the dark sky and feeling the fresh, cold night air against her cheeks as she curled her legs up underneath her and pulled her blanket closer around her to shut out the cold air. She didn't close the window though, because she wanted it to be open for Hedwig and she needed the air to remind her that she was awake and not still locked in her nightmare.

The dark shadows and echoing sounds still lingered on her mind, but the view of the street lights helped her calm down. Somehow. She wasn't sure why, but they helped. The house was silent and she couldn't hear anything at all.

Did Ron and Hermione miss her? Did they notice that she wasn't there anymore? Would...would they tell anyone if she told where she was? Should she tell them where she was? Did they blame her? Were they alright?

Did they think that they had a safer and better life now that she was out of the way? Perhaps Ron liked that she wasn't getting all the attention now and he could finally get a chance to shine himself? Perhaps the others would see him now and not the see him in her shadow? She always thought it was stupid that they couldn't see that he was brilliant in his own way. No one she knew was as good at chess as him.

And Hermione…perhaps she liked she could get a chance to study without having to work out how to save the school every week? She was pulled into situations she never would have been in because of Hari, and Hari knew it must be a bother for the other girl.

They both deserved better than having Hari drag them into trouble or shadowing them because of her so-called fame. Did they also think that?

Hari hugged her legs closer to her as her mind spun in all kinds of directions and she hated it. She hated how her mind was going out of control and thinking this kind of things. She wished she could trust that Ron and Hermione never would think things like that. Why was it always during the night that her mind was going crazy?

She forced her mind over at tennis and Ryoma, she always felt better when she thought about her little brother who loved tennis like no other. She couldn't help but smile a little as she let her mind play some of his matches; it took her mind off her sombre thoughts.

The sight of something white was the first indicator that Hedwig was back and soon her trusted owl landed on her shoulder and Hari grimaced slightly seeing the mouse Hedwig let go of and that landed on the windowsill still alive.

"Ouch, Hedwig," Hari grimaced, "good job, but do you have to bring them with you here?"

Hoot.

"Of course you do," Hari sighed and stroked her feathers. "Good job."

Hedwig looked proud and nibbled at her ear before jumping off her shoulder and toward the mouse. Hari got up and turned around knowing from experience that she did not want to watch that. She walked back to her bed and crawled under her covers and closed her eyes. Perhaps she could sleep now without dreaming of chambers or Dementors.

...

"What are you doing?"

Hari looked up from where she was doing her stretches after a run and saw Matsuoka Kaori, a third-year regular, staring down at her. Getting up she met the cold eyes and arched a brow at the older girl.

"I'm doing my stretches," Hari answered her voice barely polite.

"Watch how you speak to me," Matsuoka snapped. "I'm your sempai!"

Hari just stared at her blankly.

"You have to clean up the court over there," Matsuoka pointed to the court farthest away. "Make sure every ball is back in the basket. Captain's order."

"Fine," Hari said forcing herself to remain calm and unbothered.

It wasn't the first time she had been directed to clean up the balls or doing stuff like this, and while she knew that it had to be done and she hadn't any problems with helping…she did have a problem with the obvious attempts to keep her from practising.

Hari wasn't stupid. She saw the way the other girls were looking at her, especially lately. She wasn't even sure when it had changed. She just knew that it had and suddenly the girls who had seemed friendly enough had started to turn their back to her when she joined them and give her these looks that she knew all too well.

Hari made her way to the court she had been sent to and took in the balls that were spread all over the court. She fisted her hands because it was clear that they had been deliberately tossed all over the court, every single ball that had been in the large basket. She also knew that this court was never really used.

...

"She's doing it?" Hashimoto asked quietly when Matsuoka joined them again.

"Yes," Matsuoka nodded.

"Good," Hashimoto didn't look over at the other girl as she looked at Yoshida go over the plans for the practice. She wasn't going to sit by and just watch some new kid come and take over for Yoshida who had worked so hard to get where she was.

"I want you all to…" Yoshida was saying and pointed at the board and for once had the attention from all of the regulars.

They spread out and started to do the exercises they had been assigned and Hashimoto couldn't help but glance over at the court she'd had Matsuoka send Hari. She could barely make out the other girl clean up the balls and smiled slightly.

"Has anyone seen Echizen-san?" Yoshida called out.

"No, isn't she here?" Ueda asked.

"I guess we're not important," Yamamato drawled.

"We're not the boys so…" Saitou added giggling.

Yoshida frowned at them, "that's uncalled for."

"You're too kind, Satomi," Hashimoto told her. "They're just having some fun."

Yoshida gave her a look before she shook her head, "get back to your practice."

Hashimoto smiled slightly and nodded. She focused on the swing practice she was doing.

...

"Echizen!" Hari looked up when she heard someone call her when she had finished cleaning up the court and saw Yoshida look at her with a disappointed frown.

"Hai?" Hari asked.

"Why are you only showing up now?!" Yoshida demanded.

"Eh? I…" Hari started.

"No, I won't hear any excuses," Yoshida said. "I told you to be here on time today and you didn't even bother to show up. Clean this up before you leave."

Yoshida turned and left before Hari could say a word and Hari stared blankly after the Captain of the girl's tennis team. She heard the giggles from the other girls and glanced over to see the amused yet malicious looks they gave her.

"You heard her, Echizen," Hashimoto said. "Clean up."

"You're nothing, Echizen," Ueda sneered.

"I have no idea how Echizen Ryoma can be your little brother," Fukui giggled giving Hari a look that clearly stated what she thought of her, "I mean…you look nothing alike."

"I heard someone say that she's adopted," Saitou told them.

"Oh, that explains everything…"

"I know, right?"

"You think you're worth so much more than us, don't you Echizen-san?"

"I bet you don't even play tennis," Matsuoka said, "I've never seen you play… Did your brother get you into the team because he felt sorry for you?"

Hari gritted her teeth and refused to let herself respond, but her mind was playing with all the pranks she could possibly use on them as revenge as they laughed some more and walked away. She stared blankly at the court that was filled with tennis balls and sighed.

She started to clean up the balls (again) and wondered (again) why she bothered being on this team. She wasn't really getting anything from it. And…she hadn't left Hogwarts to be treated like this at her new school. This was her second chance to find a place where she belonged and, honestly, this wasn't it.

The only reason she was here cleaning up the balls from practice was that she didn't want the girls thinking they had won. She knew they were trying to force her out or something, she just didn't know why.

...

"No Hari-chan today either?" Momoshiro asked looking over at the fences to see Sakuno and Tomoka there like normal, but no Hari.

Ryoma shrugged without looking, "she's busy."

"Busy doing what?" Momoshiro asked, "she won't tell me when I ask her during class. She just says she'll try to come."

"Ffffsshhh…," Kaido hissed behind them and Ryoma glanced over at him to see that he was actually paying attention to them.

"She'll tell you when she's ready," Ryoma said, "come on, let's practice."

Momoshiro whined but he went back to practice like Ryoma said, but he was still curious about where Hari was.

"Saa," Fuji commented having heard their conversation. "I think Hari-chan is hiding something."

Tezuka glanced over at Fuji with a blank look on his face.

"Why?" Tezuka asked.

"Saa…" Fuji just smiled but Tezuka felt a cold shiver go down his spine at the opened eyed smile on their tensai's face.

"What do you have planned?" Tezuka asked carefully.

"Nothing," Fuji smiled innocently.

"I'm sure," Tezuka sighed looking away from him. He didn't want to be involved in whatever he had planned.

...

Fuji went to get some water when he heard the giggling signalling the arrival of the girls and grimaced slightly as he ducked behind the fountain.

"You really set her up, Hashimoto-san," one of the girl giggled, Fuji couldn't remember her name. "She'll learn that she can't come and just take what we have worked so hard for."

"I know," one of the other laughed. "I'm a little surprised though, Hashimoto-san. You normally don't bother to do this… You and Yoshida-Captain are normally not ones to be as harsh like this. Aren't you worried she will tell Yoshida-sensei?"

"What Satomi doesn't know won't hurt her," Hashimoto said, "besides… Echizen-san isn't one to complain to others… she won't tell. Her pride won't allow her to."

Fuji frowned as he watched the girl walk away and he glanced at the courts the girls used during practices. They must have talked about Hari, but…was she on their team? Was that why she hadn't been by to watch them lately? It certainly would explain a lot.

He frowned and his smile was lost as he thought about what he had heard and he didn't like it. He started to move before he really had made up his mind and soon he was by the courts and saw Hari alone gathering used tennis balls. She was almost done with the look of it, and he could see the sombre look on her face as she did. Her hair was hanging loosely around her face and it was messy.

She lifted a hand to her face and rubbed her face with it before continuing with the clean-up. Something about just watching her do this felt wrong for him and he moved closer. He could tell when she noticed him by the way she stilled and her head snapped up to stare at him.

"Hello, Hari-chan," he smiled.

"Fuji-sempai," Hari glanced around before looking at him. "Ano, what are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Fuji said looking around. "I didn't know you had joined the tennis club."

He noticed that her normal smile fell and she looked away from him before continuing to pick up the last balls. He watched her for a moment before he started to help her.

"You don't have to help me," Hari said quietly.

"I know," was all he said.

He heard her sigh but she didn't say anything else. They worked in silence until they were done and he noticed her stretch her back and grimace slightly as she did so.

"Why are you doing this alone, Hari-chan?" Fuji asked when they finished and he leaned against the netting fence.

"I'm the new kid," she said making him frown.

"So?"

"So, they think it's fun to make me do this," she said a little bitterly. "I don't know."

He frowned.

...

Hari almost cursed silently when she saw Fuji standing in front of her. She hadn't wanted anyone of them to see her or to know that she had joined the team. It was illogical, but that was how it was. Especially when she was so sure she would quit soon. She wouldn't put up with being bullied or treated like this, but she didn't want anyone else to know she was treated like that either. Nor did she want Ryoma to find out. Though she couldn't hide this for long, she knew he would soon ask her what was wrong and she doubted she would be able to lie to him when he did ask.

She didn't even know what she had done to make the rest of the team hate her. At Hogwarts, she at least knew why they treated her like that. Either it was because she was the Girl-Who-Lived, or it was because she had lost a lot of points, or she was believed to be the Heir of Slytherin. Now…she had no idea what she was supposed to have done.

"I don't know what I have done," she whispered more to herself than to him. "What have I done to make them treat me like that?"

In a burst of frustration she kicked the fence making it rattle by the force she used. Was she unable to have what Ryoma had? To have that team feeling that she saw him and the rest of the team enjoy during their tournament? Maybe her uncle was right, maybe she was worthless.

Fuji looked at her and she looked away from him.

"Why are you here, Fuji-sempai?" Hari asked.

"I was curious when I heard the girls talking about you," he admitted. "And I thought you were hiding something as of late, so I thought I would find out what it was."

"Gossip," she grumbled. "Of course."

"You don't like gossip?" Fuji asked.

She gave him a look, "no. I hate it, it never really tells the truth."

"You seem to have a lot of knowledge of it," he commented.

"You could say that" she snorted.

She walked away from him and to the changing room to change into her school uniform again. She took a moment to look around the locker room and sighed. She picked up her bag and stilled slightly when she saw Fuji, now changed as well, there waiting for her.

"Come on," he smiled at her with his eyes closed like normal. "I'll walk you home. Echizen has already left."

...

They walked in silence for a little while. Hari wasn't sure what to say and she had no idea what he was thinking. She glanced over at him and saw that he was smiling like he normally was.

"I guess I should have known you played tennis," he commented.

"Because Ryo-chan does?" Hari asked.

He glanced over at her, probably because of her slightly bitter tone.

"Sorry," she murmured. "Just a little sore because of something they said. I didn't mean to take it out on you."

"No worries," he looked at her. "Are you alright, Hari-chan?"

"I'm fine," she said automatically. "But as an answer to your question, yes, I play tennis as well. And I guess it is because Ryo-chan does. At least at first. He was the one who got me playing when we first met. I liked it and I always loved watching him play. Still does."

"Interesting," was all Fuji said.

They reached the house and Hari paused outside to look over at Fuji. He smiled at her and she smiled slightly back.

"Thank you for your help," she said and he nodded. "And…could you not mention it to anyone?"

"Why?" he asked.

"I don't want them to know," she said. "I'll handle it."

"Alright," he agreed.

"Thanks," she smiled and waved at him. "Goodbye, see you tomorrow."

...

"Hey," Hari looked up and saw Sakuno standing there.

"Hello," Hari smiled at her. "You're here early."

"I know," Sakuno said. "I came in with grandma today. Are you already practising?"

Hari nodded wiping some sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand. She didn't say she had gotten early for a reason and that she hadn't gotten much sleep last night as she had been mulling over her situation on the team. She had only left a note for Rinko and Ryoma telling them where she was.

"Thought I would get an early start," Hari said.

Sakuno nodded, "can I join you?"

"You want to?" Hari asked slightly surprised.

"Sure," Sakuno smiled shyly and blushed slightly. "If it's not a bother to you."

Hari smiled and Sakuno grabbed her racket.

Hari relaxed as they just simply hit the ball back and forth. It wasn't as tough as she normally would have made her practices, but it was rewarding to see the joy Sakuno showed. She was such a simple and kind girl that Hari couldn't help but feel comfortable with.

...

Yoshida watched as Hari played with Sakuno, they looked relaxed and like they had fun. She had not seen Hari like that with anyone but Sakuno. Sakuno was the only one who could make Hari smile and Yoshida felt a little bad about that. She also felt guilty about how hard she had been the day before, she should have let Hari explain why she was late.

She sighed. This was difficult. She could feel the animosity from the rest of the team every time Hari was present lately and it wasn't good for the team. It was driving them apart and Yoshida as a Captain had a responsibility to keep the team together.

Only…she had no idea how to do so with Hari on the team. It was harsh, but it was the truth. Also, she had seen enough for her to be sure that Hari was better than her and a nagging feeling in the back of her mind had her question things she never questioned before. Like who the regulars should be, or if she even should be Captain anymore.

Why was it that even when Yoshida worked so hard to both keep her grades up for school and keep practising, she still wasn't good enough? Hari had just waltzed in and seemed to already have a place with the boys' team, even the regulars, without even trying. From what she heard she also got good grades. Everything just seemed so easy for her, and Yoshida really wanted that.

She swallowed down the jealousy she felt, she knew it wasn't Hari's fault and she really shouldn't blame her for it. She heard Hari laugh and saw the small smile on Sakuno's face and Yoshida had obviously missed something that must have been funny.

"Ohayo," Yoshida greeted as she decided to stop watching them and approached them.

Hari immediately lost her cheerful smile and her face turned blankly polite.

"Ohayo," Hari nodded.

"Ohayo," Sakuno sounded timid and her eyes flickered between Hari and Yoshida.

"Echizen-san, I'm sorry for yesterday," Yoshida said visibly stunning Hari as she blinked at her. "I should have let you explain why you were late."

Hari arched a brow at her but she kept silent for a while. Yoshida frowned slightly when Hari sighed and looked away from her.

"I see," Hari murmured almost so quietly that Yoshida missed it. "I'm not one to tell on others, so just let it be."

Yoshida frowned, "what is that supposed to mean?"

"Nani mo," Hari said and rested her racket against her shoulder. She gave Yoshida a look. "Nothing at all."

She turned and walked to grab her bag, "my resignation letter is in the locker room. I have no interest in being part of this kind of team. It's not something for me."

"EH?" Sakuno and Yoshida both exclaimed.

"Why would you quit?!" Yoshida asked pushing down the spark of relief she had felt underneath the shock.

"Hari-chan…" Sakuno looked pained.

Hari had her back to them so they couldn't see her face for a long minute before she half turned and Yoshida was hit with the almost haunted look on her face.

"…" Hari sighed. "There's no reason to tell you. I am obviously not wanted on the team and can take a hint. I don't need to be here to play tennis. So, I quit."

Yoshida stared after her with shock and lost for words. She had no idea what just happened or what to do with it. She was aware that Sakuno ran after Hari obviously upset, but she had no mind to go after her herself.

...

Hari grimaced slightly as she walked away. She had quit. It was a decision she had arrived at during the night. She wasn't going to put herself through that treatment anymore, and she realised that she wasn't going to be happy playing with them when they could treat her like that.

She would go and play on street courts and she would have more time to go and see Saeki and play with him in Chiba. She enjoyed being able to meet other players and play with them, even if she had to do so alone. Well, she could always drag Ryoma or Momoshiro with her if she wanted to. Maybe even Kaido.

"Hari-chan! Wait up!"

Hari paused and half-turned to see Sakuno coming up behind her and she was breathing harder from the running she had done to catch up to her. Hari hadn't realised that she had walked fast…or that she was on the back of the school and not where she was supposed to be at all. Great.

"Ah, Sakuno," Hari said focusing back on the younger girl.

"Why did you quit?" Sakuno asked looking so worried that Hari had to smile a little.

"I just realised that it wasn't what I wanted," Hari explained. "I can play tennis anywhere, so I don't need them."

Sakuno was still frowning.

"But…"

"If you want to play with me or join me for practices you still can, Sakuno-chan," Hari smiled kindly. "I just…didn't want to be on that team anymore. I left a place where I was…glared at and talked about behind my back, and I refuse to go through it again."

Sakuno clearly didn't understand but she nodded and Hari gave her a smile.

...

They had a free period and Hari was like most of the class using it to do her homework, or at least attempt too as most were just talking with their friends. Hari, however, was looking amusedly over at Momoshiro who bit down on his pen and had a frustrated look on his face. She tilted her head as she watched him.

"What are you doing?" Hari finally asked.

"I'm trying to solve this problem," Momoshiro snapped glaring at the book like it would solve anything.

"By glaring at it?" Hari asked.

"Well, nothing else works," Momoshiro snapped.

Hari snorted and heard Kaido mutter something about idiots from his desk, but she ignored him and swatted Momoshiro's head when he turned toward Kaido to (obviously) start another argument.

"Hey, pay attention," Hari told him. "I'll help you."

"Really?" Momoshiro asked looking happy again.

"Really," Hari rolled her eyes at him.

She leaned over and started to explain the math problem making Momoshiro nod and get a focused look on his face. She took her time to explain it as simply she could manage.

"Ok, so if you take the number here…" Hari said and circled a number, "…and then add this…"

"Ah…I see…" Momoshiro said. "I never thought about it like that… So, then I would be able to…"

"Exactly," Hari said.

"Wow," Momoshiro grinned, "that is awesome! I can't believe you could make it sound so simple!"

Hari smiled slightly back before she tensed when she noticed Ueda and Hashimoto by the door looking in on them with scowls on their faces.

"Hari-chan?" Momoshiro asked.

"Hm?" Hari glanced over at him.

"Something wrong?" Momoshiro asked with a worried look on his face.

"No, I'm fine," Hari smiled and reached for the book again. "Should we go over the next one as well?"

Before Momoshiro could answer Kaido appeared and sat down so he was blocking her view of the door making her look at him startled. He had his usual scowl on his face so she couldn't tell if he had noticed the girls staring at her or if he was just being his usual self.

"Viper, what are you doing…" Momoshiro asked annoyed.

"I'll join your study session," Kaido grunted. "Hari-chan is good at explaining this."

Hari smiled and went back to explain the next problem and allowing herself to get distracted by the lesson. She was aware of both boys look at her from time to time with a concerned look, but neither asked and she was very grateful for that.

...

"What's up with you lately?" Ryoma asked.

Hari glanced at him and sighed.

"I quit the tennis team," Hari said.

"Why?" Ryoma asked shocked. "I thought you really wanted to join the team."

Hari shrugged and tossed the tennis ball she was holding up in the air from where she was sitting leaning on her bed resting against the headboard. She caught the ball again as she glanced over at Ryoma.

Sighing she finally told Ryoma about what had been going on and she could see that he got angry and upset, she didn't want him to feel like that and that had been why she hadn't told him. But when he asked she wasn't going to lie to him, so she told him.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Ryoma asked when she finished telling him.

"I could handle it," Hari said not looking at him.

"I still would want to know," he grumbled.

"And do what, Ryo-chan?" Hari asked. "There's nothing you could have done and it would only make things worse. I have no idea why they suddenly acted like that to me, but I won't stay when I'm not wanted. I'm not doing that again."

Ryoma sighed, but he nodded.

"I'll crush them with tennis," he promised.

"Thank you, but you don't need to do that," Hari smiled.

"I know," he said. "But I want to."

Hari shook her head, "leave them be."

"Fine," he muttered.

"Thank you, Ryo-chan," Hari smiled at him and looked back at the tennis ball she was still tossing up in the air before catching it again. "…I suppose I'm not meant to be part of a team. No one seems to want me."

It was something she wouldn't admit to anyone but Ryoma, but with only him in her room, she found herself telling him. She blinked when she felt someone sitting down next to her and a hand reached out and took hers. She swallowed as she glanced over at Ryoma who wasn't looking at her.

"You'll find a team," he said.

She leaned against him and rested her head on his shoulder. No more words were necessary between them.

...

Yoshida walked with determined steps toward Ryuzaki's office. Her hands clenched at her side as she closed in on her set location. She reached the door and hesitated for a moment taking a deep breath before lifting her hand to knock on the door.

She slid the door open and saw that both Tezuka and Oishi was there obviously talking with Ryuzaki about something. She fought the blush she felt coming when Tezuka looked at her.

"Yoshida-san," Ryuzaki greeted. "I wasn't expecting you."

"I'm sorry for interrupting, sensei," Yoshida said self-consciously.

"Don't worry about it," Ryuzaki said waving her into the room.

She entered and closed the door behind her as she glanced at Tezuka again before looking back at Ryuzaki. It was difficult… She had learned what had caused Hari to quit and she felt bad. She never wanted the girls to do something like that and she was obviously not doing a good job as their Captain.

"What is your problem, Yoshida-san?" Ryuzaki asked.

"I want to resign as the Captain of the girl's team, Sensei," Yoshida said clearly stunning the others in the room.

"Why?" Ryuzaki asked shocked.

"I am not right to lead a team," Yoshida said slightly bitter. "I'm not good enough to keep them together."

"Yoshida-san…" Oishi sounded worried.

She felt worse at his worry. She didn't deserve it.

"Does this have anything to do with Echizen-san?" Ryuzaki asked pensively.

Tezuka and Oishi looked confused but didn't say anything.

"They pushed her out because of me," Yoshida said. "I can't live with that."

"What do you mean?" Ryuzaki asked.

"I said that I wanted to play her because I do think she's better than me," Yoshida told them. "From what I can tell she is the best player on our team. Not very surprising, I suppose. I think the girls thought she would threaten my place in the team or something because they treated her…badly. I never knew it got so bad that she would quit, though."

"Are you talking about Hari-chan?" Oishi interrupted wide-eyed. "She plays tennis?"

Yoshida glanced over at him but didn't say anything.

"Echizen Hari does play tennis," Ryuzaki was the one to answer. "She's quite good too. Nanjiro brags about her when I talk to him. I thought she would help lift the girls' team, but…it doesn't seem like that will happen since she quit yesterday."

Yoshida inhaled deeply again and looked at Ryuzaki with a new determination in her eyes.

"Sensei," she said making Ryuzaki arch a brow. "I know it's not very common and most schools never practice it, but… I did some research and I found that it is allowed for girls to join the boys' team. There's no rule against it. It has been done before as well, but not often and it's a few years ago. But… I think that Echizen-san could be allowed to join the boys' team."

Ryuzaki, Tezuka and Oishi stared at her making her shift on her feet but met Ryuzaki's eyes determinedly.

"You really think she's good enough?" Ryuzaki asked.

"I do," Yoshida said. "Watch her play one match against someone you know is good. See her in action."

Ryuzaki leaned forward and folded her hands that was popped up on the desk in front of her as she looked at Yoshida before looking over at Tezuka.

"What do you think Tezuka?" Ryuzaki asked.

"I think talent is more important than gender," Tezuka answered stoically as he adjusted his glasses.

"Then who should she play?"

 **...**

 **...**

 **AN: Okay, so a new chapter. So sorry for the wait! I got a little stuck on this because I didn't know just how I wanted it to go. So I do apologize for the rushed feeling you might get. I want things to move forward so I decided to just kind of rush through the period Hari is on the girl's team.**

 **...**

 **Who do you want her to play to prove she's good enough for the boy's team? I will listen to your suggestions. It could be someone on the team already or from another school.**  
 **(Just to say, she's not as good as the regulars on the boy's team (yet). She still has work to do before she can match them. Though, I do want her over with them now so...I decided to do it this way.)**

 **...**

 **What do you think about Yoshida? Should she resign or should they talk her out of it?**

 **...**

 **Thank you for your patience and your support :)**

 **...**

 **Japanese words used:**  
 **Tensai - genius**  
 **Saa - filler**  
 **Ohayo - good morning**  
 **Sempai - something they call their seniors**  
 **Sensei - teacher/coach**  
 **Hai - yes**  
 **Nani mo - nothing**


	11. A new team?

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Prince of Tennis!**

 **...**

 **...**

 **"Parseltongue"**

"Regular speak"

 **...**

 **...**

Hari smiled at Ryoma who was smirking at her confidently and Hari knew very well that Ryoma had a reason to smirk. He was winning, but that wasn't anything new. She was determined though, she would at least get a few points from him.

"Mada mada dane, Hari," Ryoma called over the net to her.

"Whatever, Ryo-chan!" Hari called back. "I still have a chance!"

He just smirked and she felt the need to wipe it off his face. He looked just like his dad when he smirked like that. Something she told him and she laughed at the horrified look that crossed his face as he spluttered at her.

"What…I…No way…! You can't say something like that, Hari!" Ryoma spluttered.

Hari took advantage and hit the tennis ball back and managed to spin it so that Ryoma didn't reach it making her take the game.

"That's cheating, Hari," Ryoma whined.

"Eh? What did I do?" Hari asked innocently.

Ryoma glared at her telling her enough that he didn't buy her innocent act.

Nanjiro who was seated in the small bell tower reading his magazine while also watching his kids (he still grinned at the thought) play tennis chuckled amusedly as he listened to their bickering. He knew it wasn't serious just fun between the two. It was also good to see Ryoma loosen up a little more, around Hari he would act more like his age.

Nanjiro watched as Hari tried her best to stop Ryoma and with her speed, she would be a challenge when she got her technique sharper. She had taken large steps, though, from where she had been when she first arrived.

"Mada mada dane," Ryoma said again when he took the last point he needed to win the match.

"I'll win next time," Hari poked her tongue out at him.

"Real mature, Hari," Ryoma snorted.

Nanjiro laughed when Hari just smirked at Ryoma.

...

Hari was at the library working on her homework while Ryoma was at tennis practice. She had almost gone to watch him play, but something held her back. She didn't feel like going back there just yet, while she didn't regret quitting it was still a little painful to remember how they treated her there.

She blinked when she heard the scraping of a chair close by and looked up to see a boy and a girl sitting down at her table. They looked familiar, but Hari couldn't quite place them.

"Hey Echizen-san," the girl smiled.

"Hey," Hari said the greeting is slightly dragged out as she eyed the two.

The girl was looking at her with round hazel eyes hidden behind thick glasses and a mane of brown hair that was roughly tied back in a messy ponytail. She had the usual school uniform, no surprise there, and Hari noticed a bracelet around her left wrist with some charms on it.

The boy had half-long brown hair and grey eyes that were staring at Hari curiously making her want to shift in her seat as she felt she was being studied. He looked a little goofy with a small gap between his teeth.

"I'm Nakashima Sora," the girl smiled at her. "You can call me Sora if you want."

"I'm Nakashima Hiraku," the boy followed up and waved at her. "You can call me Hira."

Twins? Hari blinked and looked between the two. She remembered them now, they were in her class.

"Echizen Hari," Hari said and smiled slightly, "but you already know that. Call me Hari, though."

They smiled at her and she gave them a curious look. She wasn't sure what they wanted or why they had sat down at her table.

"We know," they both said and she was suddenly reminded of Fred and George making her smile a little nostalgically. She did miss those two.

"We thought you might be lonely sitting her alone," Sora said.

"So we decided to come and sit by you," Hira added.

Hari looked at them for a second longer before she relaxed her shoulders slightly and gave them a small smile.

"I see," Hari said.

"Are you doing your homework?" Sora asked.

"Yeah, almost done though," Hari nodded. "You?"

"We're done," they both said. "We could help you if you like."

"Oh, um, you don't have to," Hari said quickly.

"We want to," Sora told her.

"Yeah," Hira nodded beside her.

"Okay," Hari accepted. "I do struggle slightly with the literature class."

Both Sora and Hira nodded and started to talk about the book they had been assigned to read and Hari nodded and was soon pulled into their discussion of the book helping her to finally understand it a little better.

When they finished it was starting to get darker outside and Hari glanced at the clock. The tennis practice should be over soon and she wanted to meet Ryoma before he went home.

"Thank you for your help," Hari said when she had packed her books back into her bags and had put the bag over her shoulder.

"You're welcome," they smiled at her.

Hari shook her head as she again shook the resemblance (of manners) to Fred and George off as she looked away from them.

They walked out of the school together and Hari thanked them once more before telling them she was going to go and find her brother before going home.

...

Hari was walking up to the tennis court where the late practice was just finished and Hari could see that they had even gotten the chance to change and get ready to go home. She spots Ryoma next to Momoshiro like normal and she also noticed Fuji next to Tezuka.

"Hari-chan!" Kikumaru beamed and bounced over to her attaching himself to her neck.

"Sempai," Hari complained. "Breathe…"

"Eiji!" Oishi snapped and pulled the redhead back.

I seemed like it was going to become a normal occurrence every time Hari showed up and she sighed resigned knowing it was nothing she could really do to stop the excitable acrobat. She ignored the voice in her mind telling her that she liked it.

"Ryo-chan," Hari waved over at her brother.

"Hari," he nodded. "Deciding to wait for me?"

"Yeah," Hari shrugged, "I did my homework."

Ryoma nodded in understanding. "And you didn't want to get lost on your way home."

Hari scowled at him.

"I wouldn't get lost," she protested.

"You would," Ryoma snorted.

"No, I wouldn't!" Hari denied. "I could have gotten home by myself!"

"You get lost at least once a day, Hari," Ryoma gave her a look.

"I don't," she grumbled.

Momoshiro was laughing as he watched the two siblings bicker and the annoyed look on Hari's face. He could see Fuji looking amused as well and the rest of the team was also looking amused and some were chuckling as they watched the two.

"Hari-san," Tezuka spoke up bringing the bickering to a stop as both Echizen's turned to look at the captain. He was watching Hari with a contemplative look on his face like he was seeing her for the first time or something like that.

"Hai?" Hari asked confused. Tezuka had never really addressed her before.

"Come to practice tomorrow after class," he said and with that, he gave a short nod and walked away from them like he hadn't just ordered her to come to practice the next day.

Hari looked confused after him blinking a few times before looking back at Ryoma and arched a brow.

"You know what that was about, Ryo-chan?" she asked.

"No," Ryoma shook his head. "I don't."

Hari turned to look at Fuji who was (surprise, surprise) smiling at her. His smile only widened when he saw her looking at her.

"Fuji-sempai?" Hari asked. "You know why he wants me at practice tomorrow?"

"Saa," he smiled. "I think you know as well, Hari-chan."

Hari shook her head and frowned when the older boy just laughed before leaving as well. He knew - Hari was sure of it.

...

The next day had Hari curious and confused in two equal parts as she tried to figure out why Tezuka had told her to come to practice. There was no reason for it as far as she could tell, but it was clear that he had meant it.

Ryoma had been no help at all, just told her to come and see what he wanted. She had told him that she wasn't even a part of the tennis club so he didn't really have a say in what she did or didn't do, but Ryoma had just shrugged.

"I don't even know why I'm going," Hari mumbled to herself.

"Because you're curious," a voice said beside Hari making her jump slightly and her head snapped to the side to see Fuji (of course it was him) having joined her without her noticing it.

Hari rolled her eyes and focused in front of her again as she made her way through the school and scowled when she saw a couple of the girls from the girls' team glaring at her. She felt tense and a flash of a stone corridor and whispers following her hit her making her stumble a couple of steps.

Fuji reached out to steady her but she flinched away from him and he pulled his hand back with a small frown and eyes opened as he looked at her. When she glanced over at him he quickly closed his eyes and smiled.

"You okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine," Hari mumbled and felt like hitting herself for allowing something like that to affect her. She had gotten away from that, from Hogwarts. She was free of the whispers and rumours, and she was not known as the Girl-Who-Lived here, she was just Hari and anonymous.

Or so she liked to believe.

She was grateful that Fuji didn't ask anymore or attempted to carry a conversation with her. She found that she didn't really mind his presence next to her either, it was almost like having Ryoma or Ron or Hermione there. She felt safe around him and that…that startled her almost enough to make her stumble again. Luckily she caught herself and quickly schooled her face that she was sure had shown a moment of shock as she had come to that realisation.

...

Hari stood beside Ryoma and waited for Tezuka to show up to explain just why he had asked her to come. She was aware that Fuji was watching her, but she ignored him the best she could. She smiled as Ryoma nudged her and gave her a look.

She listened to the team chatter around her and let their cheerful voices relax her and she was pulling into their chatter and laughter. She dodged Momoshiro trying to tickle her, she laughed as she managed to trip him making him fall to the ground pouting up at her.

A little while later Tezuka and Ryuzaki entered the court, both looking around until they spotter Hari. Ryuzaki gave a thoughtful look as she watched Hari interact with the regulars of the boys' tennis team and she realised that it already looked like she was a part of them.

"Oh, gomen ne," Yoshida's slightly breathless voice sounded interrupting the easy-going teasing and chatter going on as they became aware that they had company. "I'm late."

Ryuzaki noticed that Hari stiffened when she spotted Yoshida and that her green eyes flickered from Yoshida to her and to Tezuka quickly as she clearly thought. It was curious to see the sharp look in those green eyes as she looked between them all clearly calculating.

"It's alright, Yoshida-san," Ryuzaki said.

"Sensei, what is going on?" Momoshiro asked curiously with a large smile on his face.

Ryuzaki glanced at Hari who had narrowed her eyes as she watched her.

"Hari-san," Ryuzaki said. "I want you to play a game against Fuji."

The team stilled and gaped in surprise as they stared at Ryuzaki. It was silent and it was a wonder that no one had spoken yet, but Ryuzaki knew it was only a matter of time.

"Eh?" Momoshiro gaped.

 **"** **What if the dynamic individual ate the fault?"** Kaido hissed.

"Why, sensei?" Kikumaru asked curiously as he bounced lightly on his heel.

Hari didn't say anything as she stared at Yoshida who squirmed slightly under Hari's stare. Ryoma had gone quiet and still beside her, but it was clear to see that he was worried as he glanced at Hari with worry in his eyes.

"You'll see," Ryuzaki said and focused on Hari. "Are you ready to play, Hari-san?"

Hari looked away from Yoshida and to Ryuzaki who met her eyes calmly.

"Why?" Hari asked. "I don't see why I should play against Fuji-sempai."

"You don't want to play me, Hari-chan?" Fuji teasing voice interrupted her. "Saa….I'm hurt."

Hari scowled at him, "sure you are."

He smirked.

"Well, you can make it better and play a match against me," he said looking serious but yet amused at the same way. Hari wasn't sure how he managed that. "If you're not…scared?"

Hari glared at him. She knew what he was doing, but she couldn't stop herself from reacting. She cursed herself for falling into his trap. Because that was what this was. A trap. He was goading her and she fell for it despite knowing better.

"Fine," she snapped. "I'll play you."

He laughed and picked up his racket. Hari blinked when Ryoma gave her his racket since she hadn't brought her own.

...

"I'm confused," Momoshiro muttered as he watched Hari and Fuji getting ready to play.

"About what?" Kawamura asked from beside him.

"Why does Ryuzaki-sensei want Hari-chan to play against Fuji-sempai?" Momoshiro asked.

Kawamura shrugged but he had always been more likely to just wait and see trusting that he got the answers when it was time. Momoshiro admired that about him.

"Just watch, Momo-sempai," Ryoma spoke up and Momoshiro turned to look at his friend to see him watching Hari with an intense look on his face. "I'm sure you'll understand soon."

Momoshiro huffed but he didn't say anything else.

"Oishi, Oishi," Kikumaru nagged at Oishi who was trying to ignore him. "Why are Hari-chan playing Fujiko-chan?"

"Wait and see, Eiji," Oishi finally said and pushed the hyper boy slightly away from him as he had been leaning on his shoulder.

...

Hari gripped the racket a couple of time getting the feel of it as she watched Fuji on the other side of the net. She was curious about playing Fuji, she could feel the challenge burst through her body in bursts of adrenaline making her almost twitchy and unable to stand still.

Yet…she knew she was being tested for something and it irked her. She didn't like now knowing what was going on and while she could deal with the unknown, she didn't particularly like doing it. Not if she could help it.

She saw Ryuzaki seated in the elevated chair to act as the referee for the match while the rest of the regulars and some of the non-regulars as well were gathered outside of the netting fence watching them curiously.

...

Tezuka stood beside Oishi with a stoic expression on his face as he studied Hari on the court. She looked relaxed yet focused; her eyes sharp behind her glasses as she stared at Fuji. Tezuka had a distinct feeling that she was trying to read him and noticed all the small details that were about him.

The game had started with Fuji starting to serve. Tezuka was glad to see that he took it seriously enough, but also kept it open so he could test Hari's abilities. It had been unnecessary for Tezuka to ask Fuji to do this, he would be interested and curious enough to do so by himself.

Fuji hit a ball back over the net and it was on the opposite side of where Hari was and Tezuka was sure it would result in Fuji getting the necessary point to win the game, but Hari was moving and threw herself forward with the racket in front of her managing to hit the ball much to Tezuka's surprise.

Fuji didn't return it as it landed just over the net and Tezuka could see him staring at Hari who was pushing herself off the ground not caring that her knee was scraped and bleeding slightly. Her eyes determinedly looking back at Fuji.

"Wow," Tezuka heard Momoshiro say and glanced over to see the second year stare wide-eyed at Hari. "I didn't know she could play like that!"

"Me neither," Kikumaru agreed. "Hari-chan is good!"

Tezuka looked back at the game and saw Hari and Fuji back at playing for the last point of the game. Fuji served the ball again and Hari managed to return it. They rallied back and forth for a little bit before Fuji managed to get the ball past Hari and won the first game.

If Tezuka thought that Hari would show disappointment over the loss of the first game he would have been surprised because all he saw was a new determination as she narrowed her eyes as she watched Fuji. Fuji who was smiling but looked pensive as well.

Tezuka arched a brow as he saw Hari grab the racket in a continental grip. He watched her do a close to perfect slice serve to make Fuji nearly miss the ball, but he managed to get it and hit it back. Tezuka knew that if Fuji had to work to get it, then others would miss it.

Throughout the game Hari used the continental grip and used the slice serve, while still needing work it was pretty good.

...

Finally they finished the match and Fuji won 6-4 and Hari was breathing harder than normal and looked tired as she dumped down on the court without looking over at Fuji or the watching team. Her eyes were focused on Ryoma's red racket that she still had in her hand.

The match had been rough, but fun. Hari could still feel the thrill going through her as she fought to keep up with Fuji. Oh, she knew he was purposely dragging the match out.

"Hari," Ryoma said as he came up to her.

She looked up and gave him a tired smile.

"Ryo-chan."

"Hari-chan!" Momoshiro and Kikumaru both yelled as they came running up behind Ryoma and stared down at her.

"You never said you could play tennis!" Kikumaru whined. "Hari-chan! Meany!"

"You played well, Hari-chan," Momoshiro said a little calmer than Kikumaru.

Hari just shrugged and blinked when a water bottle was pushed in front of her and she looked up to see Kawamura smiling down at her.

"Thank you, sempai," Hari accepted the bottle gratefully and took deep greedy mouthfuls of water feeling the cold water pass down her throat.

The regulars plus Yoshida was gathered around her now and Fuji had also joined them looking like he hadn't just played a match. That annoyed Hari as she gave him a glare. The smug tensai just smiled at her.

Hari felt a little better and got back up on her feet. She looked at Tezuka and Ryuzaki who was watching in silence as the others talked and asked questions.

"Okay," Hari finally gave in and raised her hands to make them stop asking questions. "I'll answer. Yes, I play tennis. Yes, I have for a few years. Yes, it was Ryoma who taught me."

She felt like laughing when she saw the blinking they did when she listed up her answers like that. But she didn't feel like elaborating, so she kept it short and to the point.

"You should have told me," Momoshiro said. "We could have played!"

Hari smiled and nodded, "we could have. I just wanted to get a chance to practice a little before playing any of you because it had been a while since I got to play and I needed to get a little better before I could start playing against any of you. Getting trashed by Ryo-chan and Nanjiro every day is enough."

Momoshiro snorted but he nodded and gave her a grin, "we will play soon!"

Hari gave a nod of acceptance and looked at Ryuzaki who was watching her with a calculating look. She smiled when she caught Hari's eye, though.

"So…what was this all about, sensei?" Hari asked. "Why have Fuji-sempai test me?"

"You figured it out?" Ryuzaki asked but she didn't look surprised.

"It wasn't exactly very hard to see that," Hari shrugged and pushed her hands into her pockets. "Why, though, that's a different matter."

Her eyes strayed over to Yoshida who seemed to swallow and took a determined step forward. Her shoulders tense and hands wrung together.

"I told her to," Yoshida said. "Echizen-san."

"Why?" Hari deadpanned.

"Because you're too good to quit tennis," Yoshida said.

Hari stared at her for a moment ignoring the surprised murmurs around her as she looked at the other girl. She finally gave a sigh and looked away from her.

"Just because I quit the team doesn't mean that I'll quit tennis," Hari said. "I can play in different ways, Yoshida-san."

Yoshida looked slightly surprised at that.

"You quit tennis?" Kikumaru repeated confused and for once not bouncing in his shock. "Wait, does that mean that you were actually in the tennis club?"

"Good data," Inui muttered.

Hari glanced over at him and nodded.

"I was," she said. "But I quit."

"Why?" Inui asked with his notebook ready and Hari noticed that he had been scribbling away the whole time.

"I don't need to be on a team that doesn't treat you like one of them," Hari said blankly. "I did that once and won't do that again. It's better to be on your own than to do that."

The loneliness of being surrounded by others that shut you out and talked behind your back and whispered about you, the feeling of being so alone and small was not something Hari wanted to do again. Then it was better to just be alone and not under the pretence of being in a team that looked out for each other.

They looked at her with frowns and Ryoma was scowling and clenched his fists.

"I…I'm sorry," Yoshida spoke up again making the other look at her having forgotten that she was there. Hari didn't reveal what she was thinking as she looked at her. "I didn't know…I should have stopped them from doing it."

Hari saw that the older girl was sincere in her apology and felt bad about what had happened, something that Hai hadn't really expected.

"Alright, but I don't see why I had to play Fuji-sempai, though," Hari said. "Even if you're sorry about what happened."

Ryuzaki stepped forward again then and smiled warmly down at Hari.

"Yoshida-san came to talk to me and Tezuka and Oishi," Ryuzaki said. "She explained what happened and told me she wanted to resign as the Captain of the girls regular."

"Nani?" Hari blinked. "Nande?"

"Because she felt she doesn't have what it takes to be a leader," Ryuzaki said making Hari frown slightly. "She also asked us to allow you onto the boys' team."

"Nani?" Hari asked again despite the fact that she was just repeating herself. She was just so surprised and caught off guard that she couldn't find another word.

"She suggested having you play someone to see if you were good enough," Ryuzaki continued like Hari hadn't interrupted her. "Tezuka agreed and suggested having Fuji play you."

Hari glanced over at Fuji who looked calm and smiling like normal. She wondered if had been asked beforehand.

"Saa, you could have told me that, Tezuka," Fuji commented and answered Hari's unasked question.

Tezuka didn't answer, but Hari was sure he hid a smile.

"So…" Kikumaru looked around and started to bounce again. "Hari-chan is joining us?"

Hari startled and looked at him before looking back at Ryuzaki and Tezuka. She was…but she had lost so she wasn't, right? She wasn't good enough, not yet. Maybe not ever.

"Yes," Tezuka said making Hari's head snap up again and stared at him with wide eyes.

"Eh?" Hari said. "But…I lost."

Ryoma smirked next to her, but he looked pleased.

"You have a place on the team if you want it," Tezuka said coolly. "Hari-san, you played one of the best on the team, so you managing to win four games were very impressive. You showed much talent and potential and proved that you have a place on the boys' team."

"But…" Hari frowned and looked over at Fuji who arched a brow at her. "He didn't go all out. He held back and if he had been serious from the start he would have crushed me completely."

"You saw that?" Tezuka asked.

"Well, yeah, of course," Hari said. "It was obvious."

"Not to everyone," Tezuka said. "He tested your skills and potential. You didn't need to win to convince me that you are good enough."

Hari shook her head slightly and looked at Ryoma who smiled at her.

"You're good, Hari," he said, "I've told you that before."

Hari felt confused and hopeful and…scared.

"You'll have to play for a place as one of the regulars like the others," Ryuzaki said.

Hari wasn't sure what to think or act as she looked at the coach trying to figure out if it was some kind of plot. So, okay maybe she was a little paranoid, but didn't she have a right to be? But she was unable to find anything as she stared at the older woman.

"I…" Hari was normally not one to get lost for words or not know how to act.

"Come on, Hari," Ryoma nudged her shoulder. "We'll be your team."

Hari noticed Tezuka look at Ryoma for a moment before he looked back at her, but she looked at her brother and remembered the talk they'd had just a few days ago. Was it possible she could have a team with Ryoma? That way she could be a part of something like him, the same thing as him?

Hope flared in her chest and she repressed a smile from breaking free.

...

"Okay," Hari said deciding to give it one more chance. Give Ryoma and the others a chance to prove that she could be a part of a team, a good team. "I'll accept."

"Good," Ryuzaki nodded. "You will join us for practice like the others and know that I won't show any leniency because you're a girl. I will expect the same of you as I will of them, ok?"

Hari nodded, "hadn't expected anything less."

Ryuzaki nodded once more and turned around and left them alone. Hari blinked after her not really sure what just happened. A sudden attack had her stumbling slightly as she suddenly had Kikumaru attached around her neck and being hugged tightly once more broke her out of her thoughts and was pulled back (again) by Oishi who was wearing a resigned look on his face.

"I'm so happy you're going to join us, Hari-chan!" Kikumaru beamed.

Hari stilled for a moment and she tried to keep her face as blank she could manage, but a smile did break free and she was sure a small blush was colouring her cheeks. Happiness fluttered in her chest as she looked at the team around her and all of them were smiling at her. Even Tezuka (even if it was only a small one) much to her shock.

"Thank you," Hari said feeling shy.

 **"** **Does the tops captain rock,"** Kaido hissed making her startle and fight not to laugh as she turned to look at him. He gave her a sort of smile and she was sure it was meant to be encouraging but he was still scowling so it looked a little awkward, but she smiled back making him blush embarrassed and looked away.

...

Nanjiro and Rinko looked up when they heard the door open and footsteps entering the house. They could hear the laughter coming from Hari and Ryoma's low voice was barely reaching them but it was clear that he had said something that made Hari laugh.

Rinko smiled pleased that Hari was laughing and sounded lighter than she had in a while. She had been worried about the girl and still was, but she was also hopeful that she would be able to fully settle in here and have the life she deserved.

"Tadaima," Hari smiled at them when she entered the living room slightly in front of Ryoma.

"Okaeri," Rinko smiled back. "How was your day?"

"Good," Hari said with a shrug while Ryoma rolled his eyes behind her.

"Ryoma?" Nanjiro had obviously seen the eye-roll as well and called him out on it with a teasing smirk, "something to add?"

Hari turned slightly and narrowed her eyes at Ryoma.

"Hari made the tennis team today," Ryoma stated.

Nanjiro and Rinko blinked and looked at Hari who blushed slightly and shrugged trying to look like she was not affected at all.

"I thought you quit," Nanjiro asked and a small pout was on his face since he hadn't liked the idea of her quitting. Though, he had understood when Ryoma explained the reason why. Rinko had been a little surprised (though she really shouldn't have been) when Nanjiro had gotten really serious and actually cursed and threatened to go down to the court to teach the girls a lesson. Hari had stopped him, though.

"I did," Hari said.

"Ryuzaki-sensei and Tezuka-Captain both arranged for her to join the boy's team after watching her play against Fuji-sempai," Ryoma explained when Hari didn't say anything more.

"Oh?" Nanjiro asked leaning back and grinned. "The old hag arranged that?"

Hari arched a brow at him, "rather rude, don't you think?"

"Nah," Nanjiro waved it off. "So, how did it go?"

"I lost," Hari scowled making Nanjiro laugh. "I'll work on it. I'll beat him one day when he's not testing me for some reason or another."

Nanjiro laughed again and smirked at her before suddenly he frowned.

"I'm happy for you, sweetie," Rinko was saying when Nanjiro suddenly straightened up and stared at Hari with wide hazel-brown eyes.

"He's a boy," Nanjiro suddenly said making the others stop and look at him like he was crazy.

"Well, yeah," Hari said slowly.

"He's a boy and you're a girl," Nanjiro proclaimed.

Hari looked from him to Rinko who was looking like she wanted to laugh and trying to hold it in.

"Dear, I think everyone knows that," she told him.

"You're going to be surrounded by boys all day when you play tennis with the boy's team," Nanjiro wailed, "you can't! You just have to play tennis with me and Ryoma here away from the teenaged boys!"

Hari glared at Ryoma who laughed and looked way too amused while Rinko also let out a small laugh.

"No way," Hari said.

"Hari-chan!" Nanjiro whined. "You can't be around boys! They're the enemy!"

"Ryo-chan is a boy," Hari said.

"He's your brother," Nanjiro defended.

"So, Fuji-sempai is my friend," Hari shrugged, "and the others could be as well."

Nanjiro sank back looking forlorn and sulking, but Hari just shrugged and allowed a small smile cross her face. Especially when Nanjiro gave her a rather pathetic look but sank back when he saw her looking amused.

"Ryoma! You're tasked with keeping Hari safe from those boys!" Nanjiro declared seriously and pointed a waving finger at his son. "Understood?!"

Ryoma blinked before he huffed looking resigned at being pulled into the mess his father created. While Hari and Rinko looked amused, well, mostly, Hari also looked a little worried. She hoped he wouldn't do anything drastic.

...

 **Hogwarts**

Hermione sighed as she closed the book and looked around the common room. It was half-filled and starting to empty out as it was getting late. Though, not all had a rush to say goodnight and go to bed for the day.

She was seated in the best seats by the fire and Ron was in the chair next to her staring at the fire with a forgotten book opened on his lap. His blue eyes had that faraway look that he so often had these days and she knew what was bothering him. How could she not when the same thing was bothering her?

She sighed again and pulled a hand through her bushy hair wincing slightly as she got stuck in a knot, but she managed to work it out and wished she could have asked Hari to help her brush her hair with that magical potion. She could do it on her own, but it was something Hari often had helped her with and something they had bonded over.

"I wonder where Hari is," Ron said breaking the silence that surrounded them. He didn't look at her, but she knew he was directing his words to her knowing that she was next to him.

"Me too," Hermione confessed quietly.

Dumbledore and McGonagall had both called them to their office and asked if they had any idea where Hari was. Hermione had been worried and scared when she realised that Hari had left her aunt and uncle's house in Surrey and that no one had any idea where she had gone.

They hadn't.

Dumbledore himself had gone to see Hari's aunt and uncle but from what Hermione could tell had been unsuccessful in finding something. She had heard Flitwick and Sprout talking after one class one day saying that the Dursley's had moved and was unable to find them in the muggle world.

Anyway, back to the point, no one knew where Hari was and Hermione worried.

"Do you think," Ron turned to look at her and lowered his voice as he glanced around to see that no one was close by, "that Sirius picked her up and they're together?"

Hermione thought for a moment. That wasn't completely out of the question; she knew he had asked Hari to move in with him when they thought he would be cleared. But, he hadn't been and he had gone on the run. Honestly, she thought it would be too dangerous for Hari to join him. Being on the run wasn't a life for a thirteen-year-old girl.

"I don't think so," Hermione finally said. "I don't think Sirius would be able to take care of her. To keep her safe while on the run from Dementors. I can't see him putting her in danger like that."

Ron's shoulders sagged as he nodded.

"I don't know where she would have gone, though," Ron complained. "We're her friends and does she even know anyone in the muggle world?"

Hermione gave a helpless shrug. She hated not knowing, she hated not being able to answer a question. Especially when it was about her best friend's safety.

"I don't know," Hermione admitted. "She did talk about one friend once, but I don't think she had any contact with him since before Hogwarts."

Ron sighed and nodded.

"Professor Dumbledore thinks we know more than we say," Ron said.

"I know," Hermione nodded. "But we don't and I'm not sure I would tell him if I did."

Ron arched a brow at her, "what am I hearing? Hermione Granger wants to withhold information from the headmaster?"

"Shut up," Hermione scoffed, but she smiled slightly. "Not if I thought that Hari was safe and happy. I hope she's both."

"But what if…" Ron frowned.

"I can't think about that," Hermione shuddered and looked pained.

Ron nodded and looked back into the fireplace again. He frowned as he thought. Hermione had learned to rely more on Ron the last few weeks, he had been strong for her as they missed Hari. She knew Ron also missed Hari something fierce, but he had managed to give Hermione strength and support.

Though, he could be a little hot-headed at times.

...

Hermione ignored the stares and whispers that followed her out of the Great Hall the next morning as she made her way to the Charms class with Ron and Neville. They were silent as they walked and Hermione noticed Ron scowling as he noticed the stares. He didn't like the attention, and while he had often envied Hari for that attention he seemed to now understand that it wasn't easy or even a good thing to always be stared at and whispered about.

It wasn't anything new. Since Hari was suspended they had been stared at, gossiped about, cornered to find out why Hari was suspended from school. Why the Minister of Magic himself had interfered and pulled strings getting the suspension to get past the Headmaster and stick.

Hermione had ignored them the best she could, but the almost hostile whispers were getting to both her and Ron. The way many seemed to think that Hari was getting the worst punishment and that they had thrown her (as the muggles say) under the bus.

That wasn't true at all. They hadn't, and they never would. She would have taken the same punishment as Hari if necessary but the professors had said it was out of their hands and Hari wouldn't have wanted them to be suspended as well.

Hari had looked relieved when she learned that Ron and Hermione weren't getting suspended, but there had been a look of resigned defeat in her emerald green eyes. Something Hermione didn't like and make her worry for her friend even more.

Dumbledore had asked them not to write to Hari, and Hermione had never seen Ron so angry before. But the headmaster had remained set in his ways and stood by his decision, saying that the less attention they brought to Hari from Fudge the better.

They had kept their word for the first weeks and hating themselves for it. Until they had broken it and used Errol to send a letter, but he had returned with the letter unopened and worrying the both of them.

They had tried a school owl, but she had come back as well with the letter tied to her leg. It seemed like it was impossible to get a letter through and Hermione had no idea why. She had tried to research the reasons, but she hadn't found anything in her books. Finally, she had somehow managed to ask Flitwick in one of his class (masking it as simple curiosity) about letters being returned unopened and what it meant.

The Charms professor had given her a look before he had said it was some wards that could be put up to keep owls from getting through, but it was rare to be used.

Hermione and Ron were conflicted about what they thought. Were the wards around the house Hari stayed at in Surrey or was it just Hari sending the letters back unopened because she was angry at them? Did she blame them for what had happened?

"She could be her noble-self and purposely be pushing us away to keep us away from situations like this," Ron had said one night and Hermione had to admit that it was a likely explanation.

...

"I still think we should do something," Ron muttered as he sat by her side in Charms. They were sitting by themselves since no one from Gryffindor really wanted anything to do with them anymore. Again a feeling on how it had been for Hari when she had been blamed for things outside of her control.

"Like what?" Hermione snapped frustrated.

"I don't know," Ron snapped back.

Hermione inhaled deeply as she tried to calm herself down. It wasn't Ron's fault. She shouldn't take her frustration out on him. She listened to Flitwick explain a charm and demonstrate it, but half her mind was thinking about Hari and how to find her. There had to be some way they hadn't thought about, something so simple that they really should have seen it… But what could they do? Especially being stuck at Hogwarts and away from the muggle world where Hari most likely was.

"I have an idea," Hermione said making Ron look over at her with a hopeful look in his eyes.

 **...**

 **...**

 **AN:** **Finally a new chapter ready! What do you think? :)**

 **...**

 **More Yoshida in the next chapter because I didn't have room to have more of her on this one. So, next chapter. :)**

 **...**

 **Hope you liked the peek into the magical world and seeing how Ron and Hermione are dealing without Hari. I will not have peeks into the magical world every chapter, but once in a while. :)**

 **...**

 **Thanks for reading and supporting the story! Feel free to let me know what you think or if you have questions or anything down in the reviews and I'll do my best to answer you as fast as I can :) Love hearing from readers!**

 **...**

 **Japanese words used:**  
 **Hai - yes**  
 **Gomen ne - I'm sorry**  
 **Saa - filler**  
 **Sempai -**  
 **Sensei - teacher, coach**  
 **Tensai - genius**  
 **Nani - what?**  
 **Nande - why**  
 **Tadaima - I'm home**  
 **Okaeri - Welcome back**


	12. First day of practice and a well played

**Dislaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Prince of Tennis!**

 **...**

 **"Parseltongue"**

 **...**

 **...**

It wasn't until Hari went to bed that she realised that she hadn't talked to Yoshida after learning that she could join the boys' team. Lying on her back and staring up at the ceiling had her thinking about the sad and yet determined look that had been on Yoshida's face. She did look to be sorry about everything.

Hari sighed and turned to her side as she tried to find a comfortable position. She knew that it hadn't been Yoshida's fault for how the other girls treated her, but at the same time she didn't feel like the other girl had stuck up for her either.

 _She resigned as Captain,_ a small voice whispered in Hari's mind.

It was clear to Hari that Yoshida had worked hard to become the Captain of the girls' team and one of the few who actually took tennis seriously. It was not something that Hari would or could dismiss and it had a bad taste in her mouth to know that she had been a part of the reason why Yoshida had resigned.

Hari was confused. She didn't know what to do or if she should do anything at all. Was it her problem that Yoshida had decided to resign? Hari hadn't told her to do so, she hadn't even told her what the other girls had said or done. She hadn't meant for Yoshida to resign.

 _Doesn't mean that you shouldn't do something about it,_ the same voice in her mind said. It sounded very much like Hermione.

Frustrated and confused Hari finally fell asleep despite not knowing more about what she should do about this.

...

"Laugh it up," Hari grumbled as she gave Ryoma a glare. Momoshiro was laughing as he watched them.

"I will," Ryoma said.

"What are you talking about?" Momoshiro finally decided to break into the bickering only to have Hari glare at him before turning away with a huff.

"Oyaji decided that Hari should stay home from school today and play tennis with him," Ryoma explained with a laugh, "also thought she should be homeschooled from now on."

Momoshiro blinked, "eh, why?"

"He's gone crazy," Hari muttered.

"He always was crazy," Ryoma told her but he smiled.

"Don't know why you're so amused," Hari shot at him.

"For once he's not focused on teasing me," Ryoma shrugged. "Besides…it's funny."

"Are you going to do that?" Momoshiro frowned slightly worried. He didn't want her to quit.

"As if," Hari snorted. "He's just having a momentary crisis. Rinko will snap him out of it."

Momoshiro blinked at her words and looked to Ryoma who was smirking again. He met his eyes and leaned closer to Momoshiro.

"He's not too happy about her being around boys," Ryoma whispered.

"Ah," Momoshiro said and smiled amusedly.

Hari noticed and narrowed her eyes at the two boys who quickly tried to school their expression when seeing the look on her face. They weren't successful.

...

It was lunch and Hari was about to find Momoshiro and Kaido when the twins she had met the day before stopped in front of her desk. Sora and Hira both smiled at her and she smiled back automatically.

"Want to eat with us?" Sora asked.

Hari glanced over at Momoshiro who was talking with a boy from their class and Kaido had already left, so she looked back at Sora and nodded.

"Sure," Hari said.

Hari got up and followed the two out of the classroom with a wave at Momoshiro who looked confused but waved back.

They ended up on the rooftop of the school and Hari immediately went to the edge and looked out over the schoolyard. She could see the tennis court from there but they were empty right now, not that she was surprised by that.

She smiled as she leaned forward slightly and felt the wind on her face and hair, but soon a pair of hands pulled her back.

"Are you trying to fall off?" Hira asked incredulously.

"What? No, of course not," Hari blinked at him.

Sora laughed and pulled her brother down next to her before Hari sat down as well and found the bento that Nanako had made her. She grinned happily as she took a bite of the food and reminded herself to thank the older girl later. While it wasn't like the food at Hogwarts it was still good and more than she would have received at the Dursley's.

"You like high places?" Sora asked breaking the silence making Hari look away from her food and to the other girl who was eating as well.

"Mm," Hari nodded. "I always felt like I could think better when I'm up somewhere high."

"Crazy," Hira mumbled but he rolled his eyes and smiled slightly taking the sting out of his words.

Hari just shrugged. Hermione had never understood that either, but Ron had.

Hari had a good time during lunch with both Sora and Hira, she found that they were easy to be around. While they didn't really know much about tennis Hari found that they really liked comics and movies. It fascinated Hari enough that she wanted to learn more.

"Wait, wait," Hira held up his hands as he stared at Hari with wide eyes. "You mean to tell me that you never, like not at all, have watched Star Wars?"

Hari shook her head.

"Lord of the Rings?"

Hari shook her head again.

"What about the Hobbit?"

Hari sighed, "no."

"Have you lived under a rock?" Hira asked.

No, she thought, only in a remote location without access to muggle culture.

"Perhaps," Hari shrugged and leaned forward. "Is any of the movies good?"

"It's the best," Hira exclaimed.

"Oh, you really shouldn't have said that" Sora sighed. "He will bore you with details about the movies for hours now."

"I will not!" Hira protested. "It's not boring! You like the movies too, you know!"

"Yes, but I don't rant about them like a fanatic," Sora huffed. "Besides, the books are better than the movies."

"Star Wars isn't books," Hira glared at her. "At least not the original story."

Hari smiled as she watched them bicker.

The lunch bell interrupted their bickering and made them all scramble to get their things so they could get back down and to the classroom.

...

"Hari-chan," Momoshiro grinned at her. "Are you ready for your first practice today?"

Hari, who had been talking with Hira and Sora, looked over at him and grinned back at him.

"Hai," Hari nodded.

"Practice?" Sora asked curiously.

"Hari-chan here is a part of our tennis team," Momoshiro explained and reached out to ruffle her hair, but Hari swatted his hand away.

"When you said you liked tennis I didn't think you meant you played with the boys," Hira blinked.

Hari shrugged, "it's my first practice with them today."

"And we have to go before we're late," Momoshiro said. "Or Captain will kill us!"

Hari grimaced. She didn't really want to get Tezuka angry at her at the first practice.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Hari told Hira and Sora before following Momoshiro out of the classroom.

They talked as they walked to the practice grounds making Hari feel a little more at ease and the nerves that were bubbling in her stomach to settle some. She really wanted this to work out.

"Ah, Hari-chan," Oishi was just getting out of the locker room when she and Momoshiro reached it. "I was just going to go and look for you."

"Oh?" Hari looked at him.

"Come with me," Oishi smiled. "Momo, you go and change."

Momoshiro nodded and disappeared into the locker room. Hari turned toward Oishi and followed him to a door leading into the back of the small house where the locker room for the boys was. She arched a brow when Oishi stopped in front of it.

"We thought you might need a different place to change," Oishi explained and he couldn't quite look at Hari as he reached up to rub the back of his head. "So, um, I cleaned out space here…"

He pushed the door open and Hari stepped inside when he motioned for her to do so. She looked around, it wasn't a large room, but it held a small bench and some shelves were put up on one of the walls so she could have a place to place her things and a few hooks were screwed on the side of the wall for her clothes.

A small bathroom was even attached to the room and she could barely make out a shower inside. She felt her throat thicken as she took in the small room, she swallowed repeatedly to keep from doing something embarrassing. Like, start crying. It wasn't the room in itself, but…the effort.

"I know it's not much," Oishi explained, "but we thought it would be better for you and that way you don't have to go all the way over to the other girls to change. But of course, if you want to do that you can…"

Hari shook her head and smiled at him.

"It's great," Hari said. "Arigatou!"

Oishi smiled relieved and nodded.

"Here," Oishi handed her something and when she looked down into her hand when she received it she saw that it was a key. "For the door."

Hari only nodded her words getting lost in her throat. Oishi smiled at her before turning around and walked out of the room.

"Get changed," Oishi said. "We'll start practice soon."

Hari nodded again and locked the door behind him before walking to the bench and sat down. She inhaled deeply before letting it out again as she looked around. No one had ever done anything like this for her before. She had dreaded the thought of having to go and change in the locker room for the girls' team. She hadn't wanted to have to face them every day, but now she wouldn't have to.

She shook herself and quickly got changed before exiting her room and locked the door. She wouldn't want anyone inside while she practised.

...

"Ka-chan!" Hari beamed at Kaido who startled slightly.

 **"** **You are too short to see over the fence,"** he hissed.

"Hey," Hari scowled at him. "No need to be offensive!"

He blinked at her looking startled and was actually gaping at her while the others who had heard her looked at them confused. Hari folded her arms over her chest as she glowered at him.

"Eh?" Kaido asked.

Hari noticed the confusion and wondered why he would be confused when he had just…Oh. She blinked and felt her eyes widen a little as she realised what had happened. Ups. She reached up and rubbed the back of her head as she gave a sheepish laugh.

"Ah, gomen," she looked away sheepishly.

Stupid, she shouldn't have forgotten that he had the tendency to speak parseltongue without knowing it and she had thought he had just insulted her because she understood what he said.

Kaido blinked before shrugging and she guessed it meant she was forgiven or just dismissed as being weird. She grimaced slightly.

Tezuka chose that moment to call for attention and Hari turned her attention to the Captain who gave his orders for the practice.

They were first set to run around the courts and Hari had not much trouble keeping up with them.

...

"Hari-san," Tezuka stopped in front of her where she was taking a break to get something to drink after having run 30 laps around the court.

"Hai, Captain?" Hari asked wiping her mouth with the back of her hands as she looked at him.

"I want you to work on your serve," he said.

"My serve?" Hari repeated confused.

"Yes," he nodded. "Your Slice Serve that you used against Fuji."

"Ok," Hari said.

"Come on," he said and turned walking away from her leaving her to follow him. She picked up her racket and followed him to the side of the court while the others spread out and started their own practice.

"I noticed that your Serve is rather good," Tezuka said adjusting his glasses as he looked at her. She smiled slightly at the praise. "I want you to work on it to develop it further."

"Sure," Hari nodded. "I want to get better."

Tezuka nodded and much to Hari's surprise got ready to help her himself. She blinked a couple of times before she got into position and tossed the first ball up in the air and with the racket in a continental grip hit the ball on the right-hand side making the ball spin. The side spin made the ball curve to the left and dipped slightly.

Hari scowled when the ball didn't continue like it should and it wasn't as hard as she liked.

"I want you to use a little more force and be careful to hit the ball with a cleaner hit," Tezuka told her.

Hari nodded and tried to do as Tezuka said. She hit ball after ball after ball until her arm felt like it would fall off, but she continued. Tezuka would occasionally stop her and give her advice on how to make it better, or how to adjust her grip.

...

Hari was walking through the school and frowned when she found herself in a corridor she didn't recognise. She scratched her head before sighing as she realised that she was yet again lost. She had thought she knew her way around the school by now, but here she was. Lost.

She turned and started to walk back the way she came, or at least she thought she came and looked around. She had no idea where she was.

"Echizen-san?"

Hari looked up to see Yoshida standing there looking at her curiously and with a trace of nervousness.

"Hey," Hari said a little awkwardly.

"What are you doing here?" Yoshida asked looking around. "It's the third year classrooms."

Hari hummed and nodded as she looked around once more.

"My classroom moved," Hari sighed.

"Your classroom moved?" Yoshida repeated. "You mean you have class in a different room than usual?"

Hari shook her head, "no. I mean it's not where it should be."

"You're lost," Yoshida said.

"No," Hari scowled.

Yoshida looked at her for a moment like she tried to figure her out, but Hari just shrugged.

"Alright," Yoshida said sounding confused. "Aren't you done for the day anyway?"

Hari nodded, "yeah, but I had to get something from the classroom."

Yoshida nodded.

The silence between them was awkward and tense as neither girl knew what to say or how to break the silence. Hari shifted on her feet as she stood there.

"Um," Hari cleared her throat. "Did you really resign?"

Yoshida looked back at her before she nodded.

"I did," she said.

"Why?" Hari asked.

"I didn't do a good enough job leading them," Yoshida looked away before walking over to the window and looked out. Hari followed and stood beside her but her back was to the window and she leaned against the wall as she glanced over at Yoshida.

"You were a good Captain, Yoshida-san," Hari said. "It's not your fault that the other chose to act like that."

"They did it because of me," Yoshida admitted after a pause. "They thought it would be something I would want, something I would approve of. If they think I would do that…then I haven't done a good enough job leading them."

Hari didn't say anything for a moment as she thought about what Yoshida said. She had been a little unsure about what she thought about the other girl, but it seemed like she really did feel bad about what had happened.

"Echizen-san," Yoshida spoke up interrupting Hari's thoughts. "I did not do enough to stop them from targeting you and I am sorry."

Hari swallowed and shifted on her feet suddenly feeling very self-conscious and awkward.

"It's not your fault," Hari finally said. "I'm not mad at you, Yoshida-san."

Yoshida looked doubtful and Hari sighed. She wasn't really sure why she was even still here talking with the other girl. She didn't blame her, but she hadn't particularly a reason to talk to her either. Hari just wanted to forget the experience with the girls' team altogether.

"You don't control the others," Hari added. She had learned that the hard way back at Hogwarts, she couldn't control how they saw her and what they thought about her.

"Still," Yoshida said.

"They didn't like me," Hari interrupted a little impatiently because she really didn't want to talk about this, but the lost and regretful look on Yoshida's face had her talking. Hermione always did say that Hari had a soft heart and the need to save others. Looks like she still did. "I have no idea why, but it had nothing to do with you. People just don't like me."

There was something lost and so matter-of-fact over the voice that Yoshida had to take a double look at the other girl. She had a self-deprecating smile on her face and a darker look in her green eyes that had Yoshida frown.

"People like you," Yoshida said.

Hari shrugged and took a few steps away from the other girl before pausing and looking over at her. She seemed to be giving her a look trying to see through her.

"You like tennis, right?" Hari asked.

"Yes," Yoshida said.

"Then you should find a new way to play tennis or be involved in the game if you don't want to play anymore," Hari told her. "I refused to let anyone take away my joy for the game. That's why I quit the girls' team. I love tennis and I just want to play and have fun with it."

Yoshida looked a little thoughtful as she watched Hari walk away and disappearing around a corner.

...

"Tadaima," Hari called out when she entered the house and heard Nanako answer from the kitchen, but Hari headed for the stairs instead. She went to her room and sank down on her bed as she thought back to her meeting with Yoshida.

Would Yoshida really quit? The thought nagged at her more than Hari thought it would. The look of loss and regret that had been in Yoshida's eyes had hit Hari harder than she thought it would and Hari felt even more annoyed and upset with the girls' on the team.

What was with them? Fine, they didn't like Hari. They saw her as a threat or something, but Yoshida was one of them. She was their Captain and they had pushed her to quit. They had done that and Hari felt really angry when she thought about it. What was worse was the fact that they said it was for Yoshida's sake and that was not okay!

How could it have been for Yoshida's sake? What good would it do them or her if they targeted Hari? Hari had no idea why they would do that and think it was for the best.

Hari thought it was time for some payback. A smirk crossed her face as she got an idea. She just had to find the perfect time.

...

Two days later found Hari sitting perched up in a tree smirking as she watched the girls' locker room and the arrival of the regulars for the team. They were, as usual, talking and laughing making Hari scowl as they didn't seem at least bit sorry for the one who wasn't there.

They opened the door and was about to walk inside when they paused.

"Eh!"

"What happened in here?!"

"Ghost?!"

Hari laughed and had to hang on to the branch she was seated on to keep from falling off. Their confused and slightly scared looks were much more amusing than she thought.

"Someone get Ryuzaki-sensei!" Hashimoto exclaimed.

Ah, it was time to leave. Hari didn't want to be seen close by the, um, scene of the crime in case someone would point a finger at her and blame her for it. She jumped down from the tree and made her way over to the courts where the boys' practised. No one was there yet and Hari was pleased with that.

Not long after the rest of the team came and joined her.

...

Hari was walking with the rest of the team when they noticed the commotion to their left. It was almost time for the classes to start, but they paused to see what it was all about.

"I have no idea how it happened," Hashimoto said waving her hands. "The door was locked!"

"It must have been a ghost," Ueda said.

"How would a ghost managed to do that?" Hashimoto snapped at her.

Ryuzaki looked tired and was rubbing her face as she looked at the girls. The girls looked a little fretful and kept looking at each other as if searching for clues.

"What's going on?" Momoshiro asked having stepped closer to the commotion curiously.

"Someone has stuck the furniture to the roof of the room," Fukui said blushing slightly at the attention from the boys. Her eyes were slightly wide though.

Hari worked to keep her face blank as she observed them from where she was standing beside Fuji who was smiling like normal.

"Eh?" Momoshiro and Kikumaru both asked at once and rushed to the door and looked inside of the room.

"It's true!" Kikumaru exclaimed. "The furniture, even the lockers, are all placed on the roof as if it was the floor! Amazing!"

Hari felt Ryoma looking at her but she didn't look over at him because she wasn't sure she would be able to keep her mask up if she did. Everyone walked over to the door and looked at the room and Hari could hear many wonders how it was possible and who could have done it.

"Out of the way, out of the way," an old man grunted and pushed past the watching students. He stopped when he saw the room and blinked. "Huh. I see."

...

Hari made her way to the classroom with Momoshiro and Kaido ignoring the looks she got from Ryoma and Fuji. She felt slightly concerned over the fact that Fuji was watching her. Ryoma would guess it was her, she knew that, but for Fuji to look at her like that… well, that couldn't be good. She grimaced slightly.

"I wonder who could have done it," Momoshiro commented as they sat down at their desks.

Hari shrugged.

"It must have been very difficult," he continued. "I mean…how could someone lift the furniture and make it stick to the roof like that?"

Simple, Hari thought, just use a levitating charm and a sticking charm along with some glue and it stuck just fine to the roof.

"There must at least have been two," Momoshiro continued. "No one could have done that alone."

Yes, they could, Hari thought again with a secret smile.

"Who knows," Hari said.

The rest of the class was also talking about it and Hari heard them speculate about who it could be and why someone would do that. It seemed that most found it amusing, though.

Sora and Hira both came over to Hari and talked about it and she played her part very well if Hari had to say so herself. She acted as surprised and astonished as the others and wondered who it could be.

...

"So," a voice from behind her had Hari jump and twirl around to see Fuji standing there waiting for her. He had been leaned against the wall outside of the school and pushed away from it when he saw her. She blinked at him.

"Don't do that!" Hari gasped and glared at the other boy.

"I didn't do anything," Fuji smiled innocently at her.

"Right," Hari scoffed and turned to walk toward the gates. She could spot Ryoma standing by the gates waiting for her.

"So," Fuji said again coming up beside her. "That was a good prank."

Hari glanced over at him feeling not as surprised as she should be over the fact that he seemed to know it was her, but she kept her face blank. She arched a brow at him without saying anything.

He smiled wider and looked thoroughly amused.

"I must say," He continued, "I can't figure out how you managed to do it."

"You think it was me?" Hari asked.

"Of course," he simply said.

Hari huffed, "you give me too much credit."

He laughed, "somehow I don't think I give you _enough_ credit."

Hari looked away from him and shrugged.

"Well, I don't know what you're talking about," Hari said.

"Of course you don't," he smiled. "Jya matane!"

"Bye, Fuji-sempai," Hari waved at him just as she reached Ryoma.

...

"How did you do it?" Ryoma asked.

"Do what?" Hari blinked at him innocently.

"You know what," Ryoma gave her a look. "The prank."

Hari shrugged, "who says it's me?"

"Hari…." Ryoma narrowed his eyes at her.

"Fine, I had a little help from my magic," Hari shrugged. "It was easy."

"You're crazy," he said. "What if someone saw you?"

"They didn't," Hari rolled her eyes. "I am better than that."

He snorted, "I thought you didn't do it?"

Hari frowned and realised that she had admitted to doing it. She scowled at him and huffed annoyed.

"Cheater," she accused.

Ryoma smirked at her.

"Why did you do it?" Ryoma asked curiously.

"They deserved it;" Hari scoffed still annoyed that he had managed to get her to admit doing it. "They act like they've done nothing wrong and they pushed Yoshida to resign because they claimed they did what they did to me for her."

Ryoma nodded in understanding.

"And pranking them is better than something else," Hari continued. "The prank is even rather innocent as well."

"It was a good one," Ryoma agreed.

Hari smiled pleased and nodded.

...

Yoshida sat on a bench in a park nearby her home, she could hear the sounds of children laughing and playing. Her eyes trained on two children playing tennis, looking like they had fun and really enjoyed the game. When was the last time she found tennis that fun?

Hari's words from a few days ago still echoed in her mind making Yoshida feel like she should do something, but she just didn't know what. Did she really want to quit tennis? Yeah, she didn't want to be the Captain anymore. It felt sullied now, but she still wanted to be involved in the game.

Hari had been brave and made choices that made her happy and would protect her joy for the game. Yoshida knew that it must have been difficult for Hari to make the decision she did, or maybe it wasn't. Perhaps it really was as simple as deciding to quit what makes you unhappy and find a new way to keep doing what makes you happy. Could it really be that simple?

Yoshida frowned as she thought about it all. She was forced to think about everything she had done up until now and every choice she had made with her tennis. She had worked hard to get to where she was with her tennis, but…she couldn't deny that there had been that underlying hope of gaining the attention of the boy's regular team as well. Not as strong for her, but the other girl's… well, the boys were the reason they played tennis at all.

But why had she started with tennis? She couldn't remember why she had first started to play the sport, and that was not good. She barely remembered how it was coming home almost completely exhausted and barely managing to eat dinner before falling asleep after a long day of practice. It felt like a foggy memory at best.

Yoshida felt really confused and conflicted as she went over her choices and feelings. She grimaced slightly as she tried to make sense of it all. She needed to find her love and joy for the sport again, she decided. That decided she knew what to do and got up from the bench.

...

Standing outside the gates of a house she had only walked passed before had Yoshida question her decision. Was this really a good idea? The name Echizen stood clearly written beside the doorbell and Yoshida swallowed nervously before she pushed the small buzzer.

Waiting felt like an eternity even if it was only a few seconds in reality, but then the gate opened and a tall girl with dark blue hair and purple eyes smiled warmly at her.

"Hello, may I help you?"

"Um, I was looking for Echizen Hari?" Yoshida grimaced when it came out as a question. She saw the arched brow from the older girl but then she smiled slightly wider.

"You're Hari-chan's friend?" the girl asked seemingly delighted. "I'm Meino Nanako, her cousin."

Yoshida felt awkward, she couldn't really say she was Hari's friend. Not that she didn't want to be, but she doubted that Hari saw her as a friend.

"Hajimemashite," Yoshida tried to smile. "I'm Yoshida Satomi."

"Hari-chan is up at the temple," Nanako said. "If you just go a little bit that way you will find the temple and you'll find her."

Yoshida looked a little uncertain, if she was out then maybe she didn't want anyone to interrupt her.

"She won't mind," Nanako seemed to understand her hesitation.

"Alright," Yoshida smiled and walked in the direction Nanako had pointed to. She knew the temple, she didn't know that Hari spent any time there, though.

...

Yoshida stepped into the temple grounds and immediately heard the telling sounds from a tennis ball hitting the ground and looked to the side spotting Hari in the middle of a match. She couldn't see how Hari was playing against from the angle she was in right now, but Hari looked really focused and sweat was running freely down her face.

"One more time!" Hari demanded. "Tanomu!"

A man's laughter was all that Yoshida heard before she got closer and saw an older man with slightly messy brown hair dressed in a monk outfit. He looked completely relaxed with the tennis racket in his left hand.

Yoshida couldn't help but stare at the game going on in front of her. She knew Hari was good, but this man… he was unbelievably good. She had never seen anyone play like that before, he didn't even move from his spot.

Hari missed another ball despite the dive making her fall to the ground in a sky of dust. She grumbled as she pushed herself up and dusted the dirt off her clothes.

"Finished yet, Hari-chan?" the man teased.

"No!" Hari got ready again and Yoshida was not sure why. It was clear that she was losing, that she really didn't have any chance against the man. She looked over at the man again and saw the (could she call it) proud smile on his face as he got ready to serve the ball once more.

Hari managed to hit it back and even if the man returned with ease Yoshida could see Hari remain focused and managed to return the ball once more with a little more force. Back and forth it went a few times before Hari missed another ball despite her speed and agility.

"Bugger," Hari muttered and wiped her forehead with the towel she picked up from the side of the court. Yoshida could see when Hari spotted her because she froze and her mouth popped open in surprise.

"Hari-chan?" the man asked before he too spotted Yoshida. "Ah, a beautiful young girl is here!"

Yoshida blushed at the compliment (?) from the man and saw that Hari seemed to snap out of her surprise.

"Shut up, Nanjiro," Hari scowled at him. "You're creepy."

"Hari-chan!" the man exclaimed. "You wound me!"

Hari snorted and rolled her eyes before looking back at Yoshida with a curious look on her face.

"What are you doing here, Yoshida-san?" Hari asked.

"Um, I hoped we could talk," Yoshida swallowed nervously.

Hari stared at her for a moment and Yoshida wished the younger girl would blink. Nanjiro was looking between them before he smiled and ruffled Hari's hair making the girl scowl up at him and swat his hand away.

"Talk with your friend, Hari-chan," Nanjiro laughed. "We'll continue our match another time."

"Alright," Hari nodded.

...

Yoshida sat down on the bench Hari walked to and wished she knew what to say. She had hoped that the words would come as she came here.

"Who was that?" Yoshida asked lamely.

Hari glance over at her before going back to bouncing the ball with her racket.

"Echizen Nanjiro," Hari said, "my adoptive father."

Yoshida blinked. The name was familiar like she had heard it before but couldn't place it.

"What do you want, Yoshida-san?" Hari finally asked.

"I wanted to talk to you," Yoshida admitted.

"Well, talk away," Hari said as she caught the ball with her hand and put it away and turned toward Yoshida.

"I don't know how to say it, but…" Yoshida frowned. "I thought about what you said and I think you're right. I just… I can't remember what I liked about tennis."

Hari tilted her head as she looked at her making Yoshida think about a dog, but she pushed the thought away.

"I see," Hari said. "I don't know if I can help you with that, Yoshida-san. I don't know why you started to play tennis."

"Why did you start?" Yoshida asked.

Hari didn't say anything at first and Yoshida feared she had asked the wrong thing.

"Well, I met Ryo-chan back in England when I was 8 years old," Hari finally answered. "He was playing tennis and asked me to join him. I never had any friends so I joined him because he was the first one to ask me to join in a sport or any game really. I found I like it the more I played and tennis gave me my first friend, Ryo-chan."

"Why do you like tennis?" Yoshida asked.

"I like tennis because I meet new friends and it's fun," Hari shrugged. "It's something that connects me to Ryo-chan and makes sure I'll be a part of his world."

Yoshida was sure it was a simplified version of the reason why Hari like tennis, but she didn't ask anything more. She didn't have the right to demand more reasons from the younger girl and it was enough to know this.

"I want to find my reason for liking tennis again," Yoshida said. "I don't know if I'm ready to play for a team yet, but I want to be involved in the game."

Hari blinked at the fierce declaration and Yoshida blushed embarrassed before Hari smiled a more genuine smile than any Yoshida had seen before.

"Then join as a manager or something," Hari said. "I'm sure Ryuzaki-sensei will allow that."

"I don't want to be on the girls' team," Yoshida admitted looking away.

"I don't blame you," Hari scoffed, "I don't either. That wasn't what I was thinking, though."

"It wasn't?" Yoshida asked.

"No," Hari shook her head before giving a small smile, "I was thinking you should join the boys' team as a manager. Inui-sempai would like the help, I'm sure."

 **...**

 **...**

 **AN:** **What do you think? :)**

 **If anyone has any ideas for pranks feel free to let me know! I struggle with coming up with good pranks and ideas, so any help would be appreciated! XD**

 **Thanks for reading and supporting the story! :)**

 **...**

 **Japanese words used:**  
 **Oyaji - Old man/ dad**  
 **Hai - Yes**  
 **Arigatou - Thank you**  
 **Gomen - Sorry**

 **Jya matane - See you later!**

 **Hajimemashite - Nice to meet you**  
 **sempai - Senior**  
 **Tanomu - Please**

 **Tadaima - I'm home**


	13. A fun day with An & meeting someone new

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Prince of Tennis!**

 **...**

 **...**

Hari scowled.

She took in the purple-black haired boy with the tear-mole under his right eye, eyes that were a very deep blue almost onyx in colour as he smirked cockily at her and leaned against the counter with such arrogant confident that she felt like she was faced with another Draco Malfoy.

Hari folded her arms over her chest and arched a brow unimpressed as he turned up his charm and smile turned overly sweet.

"Join me for lunch." he more or less ordered making Hari feel her eyebrow twitch.

He was already turning as if to order for her, and she rolled her eyes.

"No," she said and saw how he startled slightly.

"I don't think you understand who I am," he said.

Hari gave him the best-unimpressed look she could and honestly she was proud of it. She saw him frown at her like he was trying to figure her out.

"I don't know who you are and I don't really care," Hari said, "now, I have to get back to my friend."

She pushed past him and he looked to be too stunned to talk so he allowed her to do so. She ordered her burger and fries before standing to the side to wait for the order to be ready.

She looked and saw An seated at their table reading something on her phone while she waited, she already had her tray of food in front of her. They had made the appointment of meeting here at the burger place after school before they would go and play some tennis.

"You're an odd one," the boy said again having come up to her.

"And you're an annoying one," Hari huffed. "Go away."

"I'm not sure I want to do that," he smirked leaning on the counter as he stared at her. "I like you."

Hari shuddered with such exaggeration that he knew she was exaggerating, but got the point across anyway.

"Well, I don't like you," Hari said.

He smirked like she had said the opposite and she was never happier when the girl came with her order. She took it and left before he could say anything else.

...

"Hey," Hari smiled at An who smiled back up at her.

"Hey, you okay?" An asked.

"Yeah," Hari nodded and sat down and started to eat. "I'm hungry, though."

"I can see that," An said amusedly.

Hari just shrugged and fell into easy conversation with An who had contacted her a couple of days ago asking if she wanted to meet up and play some tennis together. Hari had happily agreed and felt a little excited to be with a friend outside of Ryoma's circle of friends or the team.

"They're all very overprotective," An rolled her eyes as she finished a story of Fudomine team regulars and their tendency to just stroll in and rescue her without letting her deal with it herself.

Hari smiled amusedly. "I see."

"What about you?" An asked finishing off her burger. "Do your brother and his team do that with you?"

"No," Hari shook her head.

They hadn't. Not really, Hari thought. Ryoma probably would be likely to rush in if he thought she needed it, and he did when she…didn't end up where she was supposed to be, not lost, just not at the right place.

An gave her a look that Hari couldn't quite read, it seemed like a cross between 'just-wait-they-will' and 'I-don't-believe-you' kind of looks. Hari just shrugged. It was true.

Hari noticed that the boy from before was still there eating with some friends from the look of it, he winked at her when she passed them and she pretended she didn't see it.

...

"I can't wait to play some tennis," An grinned as they made their way to the street courts and Hari nodded in agreement.

"Me too," she said.

They hadn't had a practice today so Hari felt the itch to play, it didn't help that she hadn't really actually played much lately at all. She had been put through some rather brutal exercises by Tezuka who had taken it upon himself to train her, but nothing of what he had told her to do involve actually playing a match. So, she was itching to be able to play.

"Since the courts normally only allow double play are you okay with playing with me?" An asked suddenly nervous making Hari look at her.

She blinked surprised because the small vulnerability was unexpected and not something Hari had connected to the lively and bubbly girl next to her.

"Of course," Hari said. "I look forward to it."

An smiled and seemed to relax again. Hari wondered what that was about, but she wouldn't press the other girl about it.

They quickly noticed that the court was fairly full and the prospects of a match looked promising.

"An-chan!"

Both Hari and An turned to see the two boys Ryoma and Momoshiro had played before coming toward them. What were their names, again…? Oh, right Izumi and Fukawa.

"Hey," An smiled. "Do anyone have a free slot so we could play?"

"Oh? You're here to play today?" Fukawa asked.

An nodded.

"We'll play you," Izumi grinned. "Um…Who are you?"

He turned toward Hari and frowned slightly.

"Wait, you were with the Seigaku-pair the first time they were here," Fukawa realised.

"Hai," Hari nodded. "I'm Echizen Hari. Nice to meet you."

They blinked in sync like one of their plays as they stared at her.

"Echizen?" they asked also in sync.

Hari's lips twitched.

"Hai," she said again but didn't elaborate.

They seemed to shrug off the surprise as they turned toward the court where they must have just left to go and greet An. It was clear to Hari that An was a frequent visitor to this place and many of the other teens there greeted her with easy smiles and warm eyes.

...

"Let's do this," Hari grinned excitedly at An as they stepped onto the court and Hari felt the familiar weight of her purple racket in her hands making her feel even more excited.

"We'll win!" Izumi called over to them.

"We'll see about that," Hari smirked back.

Hari had never played an actual double game before, but unlike Ryoma, she had studied it a lot and watched others play so she knew enough to be able to hold her own. She was the kind who learned quickly and had the luck of picking up new plays rather quickly.

She and An worked surprisingly well together and with Hari's talent of being able to read the others rather well managed to match her pace with An's. If that made sense.

They won.

It was fun and exhilarating. Hari couldn't stop smiling as she realised that they had won their first match. It had been close, but the win was still theirs. The rush she had felt was even more than what she usually felt playing on her own.

"Yes!" An laughed and raised her hand for a high-five that Hari grinningly met and both girls turned toward the boys who looked slightly shocked as they stared at them.

"We're next!" Two boys from the sidelines called out and changed places with Izumi and Fukawa like the rules of the court dictated.

A grin and a high-five signalled Hari and An's acceptance as they got into positions again.

...

Hari rushed to the side and with a sudden burst of speed and flexibility, she rolled on the ground before she got to her feet and by some feat of faith reached the ball and hit it back over the net. It landed just over the net before it rolled toward the net again.

Not that the boys had tried to reach it as they had stared wide eyed and opened mouthed at her clearly shocked by the fact that she reached the ball.

"Are you okay?" An asked.

"Fine," Hari grinned at her before looking back at the boys. "Ready to continue?"

"Oh, um, yeah;" one of them said. Hari hadn't caught their names and honestly, she wasn't that interested in learning them. Not right now anyway. It was the tennis that mattered.

They continued and Hari stayed in the back and caught the balls An let passed her, but right now Hari was happy to have An take charge and have her moment as well. It was clear to Hari that An was very good.

"Look at this," a male voice interrupted Hari and An from their celebrating high-five after another win. "You can play tennis as well."

Hari spun around to see the boy from the burger place standing with his friend, a giant of a boy. Or not actually a giant, he wasn't as big as Hagrid, but he was large and built like a brick. He had a stoic face and short black hair and brown eyes that was kind and told Hari that he wasn't as scary as his build could suggest. Especially when he towered over her like he would if they stood beside each other. Anyway, he must be about the same age as them even if he looked older.

The purple-dark haired boy smirked at her and stepped out onto the court.

"Now I really want you to come with me," he said.

Hari didn't say anything as she stared at him with narrowed eyes. She was aware that An was looking between her and the boy nervously, but Hari didn't look away from him knowing that he would take it as a victory if she did.

He strode over to them with confidence and something in his walk that once more reminded her of a certain blond Slytherin.

"I know you want to," he continued.

"I don't even know who you are," Hari scoffed. "Other than you're really full of yourself."

The boy laughed.

"Feisty," he said. "I like that. I'm the Great Atobe Keigo."

Hari arched a brow at the smile that she supposed would mean something else, but she had no idea what and she didn't really care what he was trying to do. She just found him annoying.

"Go away," Hari sighed. "We're trying to play."

He frowned slightly like he hadn't gotten the response he hoped for. The frown went away quickly enough and he got a pensive look instead.

"You're an odd one," he smirked. "Fine. I'll win against everyone here and then you'll go on a date with me. Kabaji!"

He turned and got the racket from his friend, Kabaji, who already held it out for him. He didn't even let Hari say anything as she just stood there blinking after him.

What an arrogant guy, Hari thought but had he said date?!

Like a date-date?!

She was not on board on that. No way. While he was…kind of cute, she just…no. There was no way and he was too much of a brat for her to like. She shook her head as she tried to get the thought out of her mind.

"What are you going to do?" An asked worriedly.

Hari shrugged, "nothing at the moment."

"Why? What if he wins?" An asked.

"I never agreed to go out with him," Hari told her as she watched Atobe and Kabaji line up and two other boys line up on the other side. "If he wants to play then fine."

"You're not worried," An said.

Hari shook her head as she arched a brow as she realised that they were good. Atobe didn't really play much letting Kabaji do the 'heavy' lifting but Hari could tell that he was good. Much better than anyone here and she doubted she would stand a chance against him right now.

"He'll win," Hari sighed.

"How do you know?" An asked.

"He's good and his friend is as well," Hari explained. "Besides… most people here are not on a team for their school."

"You think they are on their school team?" An asked looking at Atobe and Kabaji, who just won their second game.

"Hai," Hari nodded. "I think so."

They were both wearing the same jacket and colours and it reminded Hari very much of sports jackets from a school (she didn't know which school, though) and there was no chance that two players with that kind of talent weren't on a team.

Hari watched the rest of the matches in silence as Atobe finally just decided to let Kabaji do all the work and sat down on the court. Hari frowned at that, but she looked back at Kabaji who didn't look bothered at all by the way Atobe acted.

She grimaced as she thought that this was just like watching Crabbe and Goyle around Malfoy, well at least Kabaji looked kinder than them. She felt almost guilty for comparing them in her mind, but the way he indulged Atobe reminded her of the other two. She just couldn't help it.

...

"I won," Atobe said getting back to his feet when Izumi and Fukawa also lost and being the final pairing it signalled the end of the so-called bet.

"So you did," Hari deadpanned. "So?"

"That means you owe me a date," Atobe smirked at her.

"I never agreed to that," Hari shrugged.

Atobe frowned once more.

"The Great Atobe is taking you on a date and you act like you don't want to," he tilted his head as he watched her.

"I don't act like I don't want to," Hari stared at him, "I just don't want to."

He didn't smile for a moment and looked honestly confused before the arrogant look was back and he reached toward her.

"Leave her alone!" An suddenly yelled and got between Hari and Atobe making Atobe arch a brow and grabbed her arm to stop her from shoving him. "She said no!"

Hari blinked surprised.

"Hmmm," Atobe hummed as he looked closer at An. "You're cute as well, but I'm more interested in your friend."

He pushed her away and turned toward Hari again and was about to say something when suddenly someone else interfered.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" Momoshiro demanded and rushed toward them and quickly got Hari behind him as he glared at Atobe.

Hari sighed at (again) being pushed back.

"Hm? There's two more?" Atobe asked. "But I'm tired of playing…"

"What's going on?" Momoshiro demanded.

"An-chan are you okay?" Kamio, who Hari just noticed, asked An worriedly. "Did he hurt you?"

Momoshiro kept glaring and Hari tried to get by him, but he grabbed her arm and held her back as if she was in danger or something. She frowned at him.

"What are you doing to Hari-chan?" Momoshiro demanded again.

"Ah, Hari-chan, that's your name?" Atobe grinned.

Hari glared at Momoshiro who scowled seemingly realising that he had just given her name to the other boy.

"He asked her out and she said no," An explained, "but he won't take no for an answer."

Atobe just smirked, "I'm the Great Atobe Keigo! Who wouldn't want to go out with me?"

Hari rolled her eyes while Momoshiro just glared harder.

"You're not going to bother her!" Momoshiro snapped.

Hari was surprised by the anger in Momoshiro and the protective way he kept standing between them, but she really didn't need him to. She was handling it well enough on her own and she didn't really think that Atobe was dangerous.

He was arrogant and not used to hear the word 'no', sure, but he wouldn't do anything to her. She could tell because her magic felt calm and she just knew from watching him that he wasn't going to hurt her.

"Calm down, Momo-chan," Hari sighed and got her arm free and placed a hand on his arm instead to calm him. "I'm fine."

Momoshiro didn't look convinced, but he seemed to calm down somewhat.

"Let's play," Momoshiro demanded. "Kamio!"

"Hai?"

"Play with me," Momoshiro said without looking away from Atobe.

Atobe sighed and looked at Hari before he turned back to the court.

"Kabaji," he said.

"Hai," he said.

Hari frowned as she was left to watch the four take their place once more and Atobe sat down on the court like he had done before much to the annoyance of Momoshiro and Kamio.

Seriously, they didn't need to take it this far. She felt annoyed.

"Not overprotective, huh?" An asked beside her.

Hari looked at her slightly surprised before looking back at Momoshiro. She felt like groaning. Of course, that was what he was being, overprotective. She really hoped that the rest of the team wouldn't be like this as well.

"I guess I was wrong," Hari frowned.

An smiled slightly at the frown on Hari's face.

...

Hari rolled her eyes when Atobe called Kabaji off and letting Momoshiro and Kamio get the point they needed to win. It was clear that Atobe had been impressed by something he had seen in Momoshiro, probably his last shot and the fact that he managed to return a ball that Hari knew as a difficult ball to return.

"We'll take the loss today," Atobe said as he got back up to his feet.

Kabaji just stood there with a blank look on his face not really caring either way or so it would seem. Hari wondered if he really did want to lose a match like that, but she guessed it didn't really matter.

"Hey," Atobe stared at Momoshiro. "What's your name?"

"Seigaku's second year, Momoshiro Takeshi," Momoshiro said and Hari felt like groaning and calling him an idiot because she caught the look of triumph on Atobe's face as he let his eyes flicker over at her.

She did her best to keep her face blank making Atobe smirk at her.

"I'll see you around," Atobe said as he turned and left.

It sounded like a promise and Hari sighed. She guessed she had a new Malfoy here; at least it wasn't the original one who would show up and antagonise her. Atobe seemed…a little better and if nothing else, he wasn't a prejudiced bastard.

...

Hari said goodbye to Momoshiro and Kamio and walked away with An who asked her to come home with her and have dinner at her house. Hari had nervously accepted. It was the first time she had gone home with someone like this. She didn't count meeting Nanjiro and Rinko back when she had met Ryoma for the first time, or the time she had spent at the Burrow the summer before her second year at Hogwarts. It just didn't feel the same as this.

They talked all the way back to An's house and she saw that it was a nice two storey house that was painted yellow and had a small garden around the house. She noticed the bikes standing by a garage and a car parked in the driveway.

"Tadaima," An called out when they entered the house.

"Okaeri," a woman's voice answered and soon a woman with the same brown hair only a little longer than An's came into the hallway. "Ah, you brought your friend with you."

"Hai," An smiled. "Echizen Hari this is my mother Tachibana Rei."

"Hajimemashite," Hari smiled shyly.

"Nice to meet you too," Tachibana Rei smiled back. "An has told me about you, I'm so happy An has someone else to play tennis with."

Hari nodded and just smiled not knowing what to say or how to act. She always felt a little lost on how to act around parents to other kids. She wasn't sure what was expected of her.

Hari followed An up to her room and looked around curiously. It was what Hari would guess a normal teenage girl's room would look like. There were some posters up on the walls, bands or athletes that Hari had no idea who was, and a bookshelf filled with books. A desk was by the window and of course, there was the bed and the dresser.

"Nice room," Hari complimented.

"Arigatou," An said as she fell down on the bed.

Hari sat down in the desk chair and tried not to spin on it like she would have done if she had been in Ryoma's room.

An quickly started a conversation about their matches earlier and before Atobe came and interrupted them, and they had fun discussing them and analysing them so that they could become better to the next time they would go out and play.

Soon Tachibana Rei called that dinner was ready and they made their way down to the kitchen. Hari soon saw that An's father and her brother was there already.

"Echizen-san," Tachibana Kippei greeted her politely with a small smile. "Nice to see you again."

"You too, Tachibana-san," Hari smiled back.

"Oh, you've met?" Tachibana Goro asked.

"Hai," Tachibana nodded.

"I watched them play Seigaku," Hari explained when she saw the older man look at her curiously. "My little brother played for them and I was there watching them play."

The others nodded in understanding and they all sat down around the table.

...

"You play tennis as well, Hari-chan?" Tachibana Rei asked.

"Hai," Hari nodded. "I just joined Seigaku's team with my brother, actually."

The two Tachibana siblings blinked and looked at her.

"The boy's team?" An asked surprised.

"Mm," Hari nodded as she took another bite of her food. It was delicious something she made sure to tell the cook who smiled back at her and told her to take another serving.

"You didn't say that," An accused her.

"I thought I had," Hari furrowed her brows. "Gomen."

"It's fine," An sighed.

"You must be good, then;" Tachibana Goro observed.

Hari shrugged, "I'm alright, I guess."

"She's good," An said rolling her eyes at the humble response from Hari.

"I still have a lot to learn," Hari said.

"Everyone has more to learn," Tachibana Kippei said and he was giving her a searching look. "I must say I'm curious to watch you play, Echizen-san."

Hari just shrugged and looked away shyly. She wasn't sure what to do with all of the attention on her and she felt like shifting in her seat. She was relieved when An changed the subject and got the attention away from her. Hari suspected that An had guessed that Hari didn't like it and done it on purpose.

...

Hari walked through the school when she saw the three first years that normally cheered Ryoma on huddled together whispering and looking around almost like they were suspicious of something. Hari changed her direction and walked up to them. They didn't notice her.

"What do you think he was doing?" Kachiro asked.

"I don't know…" Mizuno frowned.

"Even the great Horio don't know," Horio sighed.

"You look like you're planning something fun. What is it?" Hari asked with a half-smile.

The three jumped and spun around to stare at her with wide, guilty eyes. She arched a brow wondering what could cause them to look like that.

"Um…" Kachiro looked flustered and his cheeks turned red as he tried to come up with something to say.

"Nothing," Horio said.

"Nothing?" Hari arched a brow as she looked at them. She smiled slightly. "Alright."

She saw the looks of relief crossing their faces just as she turned around to walk to her classroom. She paused and half-turned toward them.

"You know…" Hari said and they tensed again. She wondered if she should tease them more, they looked so flustered and she really wanted to know what they had been doing to make them look like that. "…you make me want to figure you out when you act like that."

With that she turned and walked away laughing quietly to herself as she had seen the worried looks that the three boys had exchanged.

...

"Here!"

Hari blinked and looked up when a large pile of books were placed on her desk making her have to stop writing her notes to make room for the books.

She blinked again.

"Korewa nandesuka?" Hari asked confused.

"This is the start of your education," Hira stated with a triumphant smile.

"I thought I was in school already," Hari said dryly as she stared at the stack of books and she now noticed some of the titles like _The Hobbit_ , and _the Lord of the Rings_.

"Funny," Hira said. "You said you hadn't watched the movies so…"

"So you give me books?" Hari interrupted with an arched brow.

"No, well, yes," Hira frowned, "Sora insisted on the books. The movies are here and you'll watch them after you've read the books."

Hari sighed, "what if I don't want to read the books?"

Hira looked scandalised.

"Or watch the movies?" Hari added as an afterthought.

"What?" Hira asked so shocked and horror-struck that Hari had to laugh. "How can you not want to read the books or watch the movies?"

Hari shrugged, "I'm kind of busy with tennis and school work."

"Still…" Hira frowned.

Hari sighed and looked at the books. She guessed she was slightly interested in learning more about them and it might help her get some of the references people talked about sometimes.

"Fine," she sighed. "I'll try, but no promises."

Hira looked pleased and gave her a smile before he went back to his own desk.

...

Hari exited her changing room and walked over to the court where the team was gathered already, she joined Ryoma doing the warm-ups an tried to ignore the way Momoshiro was looking at her and was Kikumaru also looking at her with something like protectiveness in his eyes?

"You didn't tell me you were bothered by some boy yesterday," Ryoma commented seemingly calm.

"Eh?" Hari blinked and looked at her little brother before looking back at Momoshiro. "He told you."

"Why didn't you?" Ryoma asked giving up pretences now and stared at her.

"I had it handled," Hari said.

"Still, you should have told me," Ryoma said.

"Ryo-chan," Hari sighed, "I'm fine. Atobe didn't really bother me that much. I had it handled and it's not something to make such a fuss over."

Ryoma looked at her with a frown, but he nodded clearly knowing her well enough to know better than to push her. She smiled back at him knowing he had calmed somewhat. She just hoped that Atobe would stay away for a little while, because she couldn't tell what Ryoma or the rest of the team (who clearly knew about it now) would do if he showed up here like she suspected he would at some point.

...

Atobe was standing on the balcony overlooking the large garden that surrounded his mansion. His mind was going over his meeting with the interesting girl, Hari-chan, he had met the day before and he was stunned with what he had just learned about her.

He had, of course, ordered a background check on her as soon as he walked away from the court the day before. He was curious and something pulled at him to learn more about this girl who wasn't fazed by his wealth or his charm. That was unheard off and Atobe was intrigued.

Intrigued enough to want to learn more about her and learn about her he did.

Given the name Momoshiro had given him, Hari-chan, Atobe had found out that there was an Echizen Hari enrolled at Seigaku and having watched a photo of her (taken for the school id) he knew it was the right girl. What was more curious was the fact that she had a Japanese last name when it was clear to him that she wasn't Japanese.

That had him make some more research, all on the discrete side of course, and his men had found enough to make him curious and surprised, but at the same time, there were aspects that were …unclear and hidden. It bugged him.

Well, anyway, one thing and perhaps the most shocking truth they had found out was her real identity. The name she had before. The name he had heard his parents mention with hushed and kind of sad voice that had been lost to him at the time since he had just been a kid.

Harriett Lily Potter.

The name of the girl that his parents mourned almost like they had lost one of their own. He remembered back when he was a young boy and they had been at their house in London and he had walked in on his mother crying. He remembered asking what was wrong and she'd said that she had just learned that a friend of hers had died a couple of years back and they couldn't find her daughter.

The daughter's name was Harriett Lily Potter and Atobe had wanted to meet her because his mother had talked so fondly about her and had shown him a few baby pictures. Of course, Atobe had only been around four years old then and didn't understand that much about it all.

Later he had heard the name mentioned from time to time, apparently, his mum was still looking for her friends missing daughter. Atobe couldn't understand how they couldn't find her, but maybe the reason was that she was in Japan?

But… from what he had learned she had only just arrived and had been adopted by the Echizen's. It didn't make sense.

Giving an uncharacteristically sigh he turned and walked back into the office and looked at the file he had received. A file that missed more than it should and he had to know more. He had to learn more about this girl and find out if she really was the same girl that his parents had been looking for.

If she was…then his interest just went up but he knew he would not be interested in her romantically because this girl was supposed to have grown up beside him as his little sister. If she indeed was the same girl then he would protect her and bring her to meet his parents who would also do everything they could to protect her in the name of the friends they had lost so many years ago.

 **...**

 **...**

 **AN:** **What do you think? :)**

 **So Atobe is in the mix and has a connection to Hari! XD**

 **Thank you for reading and hope you liked it :)**

 **Japanese words used:**  
 **Hai - Yes**  
 **Tadaima - I'm home**  
 **Okaeri - Welcome back**  
 **Hajimemashite - Nice to meet you**  
 **Arigatou - Thank you**  
 **Gomen - Sorry**  
 **Korewa nandesuka? - What's this?**


	14. A lesson, a bet and a request

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Prince of Tennis!**

 **...**

 **...**

 **"Parseltongue"**

 **...**

 **...**

Hari smiled as she stepped off the train and the first person she saw was Saeki who smiled and waved at her. Though, she tried to frown at him and crossed her arms over her chest as she gave him her best glare.

"You didn't trust me to find your house on my own?" she demanded.

He laughed freely and nudged her shoulder with his own as he fell into step beside her.

"Well, do you blame me?" he asked.

Hari tried to keep up her glare, but she failed and laughed as she shook her head. She knew that it wouldn't do any good telling him she would have found his house since he had been there before, not with the way they had met.

"So, Hari-chan, tell me," Saeki glanced at her, "how are you with the decision to quit the girl's team?"

"I'm fine," Hari assured him with a small smile. "It was the right choice for me."

"You wouldn't tell me what you do now, though," Saeki probed at her curiously. "Do you play on street courts now or?"

"Well, I do that too," Hari said purposely dragging it out before telling him. "But I joined the boy's team as well."

Saeki blinked surprised at her.

"Honto?" he asked.

"Why? You don't think I'm good enough?" Hari smirked at him and he laughed.

"Hm," he pretended to think making Hari show him lightly and he laughed again. "I think you are more than good enough."

Hari laughed as well and they talked more about her team and his as they made their way to the tennis court they had used last time she had been there.

...

"Daijobu," Saeki said when they had warmed up a little and she couldn't help but notice his smile as he looked at her. She pushed the observation away as she focused on the fact that he was going to teach her more about the motion vision like he had promised her. "I want you to start by tossing two balls against the wall over there. I want you to toss them one by one and then catch them at the same order knowing which ball is which."

Hari looked at the wall before looking back at Saeki who just smiled at her. She tilted her head slightly before looking back at the wall and shrugged.

"Ok," she agreed.

He tossed her the two balls and she noticed the large numbers one and two written on them.

"Call out which one you're catching," he told her and she nodded.

She tossed the balls, first number one and then number two right after.

"One."

"Two."

"One."

"Two."

And on it went. Before Saeki tossed another ball against the wall so that it bounced back to her.

"Three!"

"Two."

"One."

Hari followed it easily for several bounces, catching every ball even as Saeki tossed in number four and five, but she could feel that her focus was starting to slip as the time between the balls became less and less and she inevitably started to toss the balls faster and harder.

She almost cursed when one ball slipped past her but she continued until she lost another ball and Saeki called her off.

"That was very good, Hari-chan," he smiled impressed. "I didn't expect you to manage this far on your first try."

Hari felt a stab of satisfaction at his words and fought a blush as he smiled at her again. She again pushed it away as she tried to focus on what she was supposed to focus on.

"I guess you have a reason for this?" She asked.

"I wondered when you'd ask," he told her, "well, it will help you develop your skill of picking up on the details of what you observe."

Hari nodded in understanding, "I see."

"Ready for one more try?" he asked and she nodded.

...

"Enough!" he called and she stopped just as she tossed another ball at the wall and ducked as the next one came back at her. He laughed. She glared.

"I want to try something else now," he said before glancing at the clock. "Before we go and get something to eat because I'm getting hungry."

"Me too," Hari said. "But what is it you want me to do next?"

She felt curious as she hadn't really known what to expect coming back to Chiba to meet Saeki and learn more about motion vision.

"You're going to be staring straight ahead and I'll toss balls at your sides," Saeki explained, "you're not going to follow the balls with your eyes but catch them using your peripheral awareness. I will toss the balls close enough for you to catch them."

Hari blinked but nodded as she watched as he took his place and she readied herself. She felt tense, but not too much as she stared at Saeki. He tossed a ball and she had to work not to follow it with her eyes as she caught the motion with her side view and just missed it.

"Okay, try the next one," Saeki said.

She nodded and forced her eyes to remain to look forward as Saeki tossed the balls at her side, he alternated between her right and left sides making it hard for her to predict where he would toss the balls.

She gritted her teeth as she felt her eyes sting slightly at the effort it took to just use her peripheral vision but she did catch most of the balls but then he started to toss the balls faster and she felt the strain getting harder.

"Enough," Saeki called.

Hari blinked rapidly trying to get her eyes to relax. It stung. She leaned forward slightly as she rubbed her eyes wincing slightly as she did.

"Here," Saeki held out a bottle filled with water and Hari grabbed it and poured it over her head and felt a little refreshed and her eyes blinked in the water.

"Thanks." Hari smiled up at him.

"Well, I think you've earned some food," he said.

"Yatta!" Hari cheered making Saeki laugh.

...

They found a local burger place and Hari grinned when she got her food. She put the fries to the side because that was the best part and she wanted to save it to later, but let out a small groan of pleasure as she took a bit of the burger.

She willfully ignored the amused look from Saeki.

She did feel some butterflies in her stomach as she looked up and saw Saeki smile at her from the other side of the table, but she was not sure why because it wasn't like she hadn't eaten with him before.

She mentally shrugged it off as she listened to him tell her a story about his team and she laughed amused.

"I think I would find your Captain amusing," Hari told him when he stopped talking.

He nodded and watched as she took the final bite of the burger and then reached for the fries.

"You really enjoy the food," he commented.

She glanced up at him before looking back at the fries. She wasn't sure if he noticed that she stilled or her hand shaking before she managed to get it under control.

"Mm, I guess I do," she hummed as she put a fry in her mouth and chewed on it. She wasn't about to tell him that she enjoyed the food because she had grown up not knowing if she would be able to eat or if Uncle Vernon would take it from her.

Saeki frowned slightly as he regretted his comment. He hadn't meant anything by it, only finding it rather cute. Though it was clear that she was now thinking about something painful and it had something to do with his comment, but he had no idea what.

"Ah!" A loud voice suddenly sounded, "it's Saeki-san!"

Saeki felt a stab of relief at the interruption because he was not sure how to get Hari out of the mood he had unknowingly set.

"Aoi," Saeki greeted him. He also saw Shudo Satoshi, Kisarazu Ryo, Itsuki Marehiko, Amane Hikaru and finally Kurobane Harukaze all from his team standing behind Aoi. "Guys."

"ARE YOU ON A DATE?!" Aoi yelled.

Hari blinked at him while Saeki pulled a hand over his face and looked slightly embarrassed if Hari could read him correctly.

"Osu! I'm Aoi Kentaro!" Aoi loudly introduced himself skipping up right next to Hari who looked from him to Saeki looking for an explanation.

"He's the captain of my team," Saeki sighed.

"Oh," Hari said, "Right, you told me about him."

"You did?" Aoi beamed looking between the two. "So? Are you on a date?"

"No," Saeki said.

Hari wasn't sure why she felt slightly disappointed, but again she wasn't sure why as she had known it wasn't and hadn't really hoped that it was either. She couldn't understand the nagging feeling she felt when he denied it.

"Then why…" Aoi started but stopped when he was swatted (gently Hari noticed) at the head by a tall boy with wavy brown hair that seemed to go in an upward direction and Hari noticed the way he gave Aoi a look.

"Don't be rude," he said before smiling gently at Hari and she thought it was a little contrast to the rather rough look he had going for him. "Hello, I'm Kurobane Harukaze. Hajimemashite."

"Hajimemashite," Hari nodded at him. "Echizen Hari."

That had Saeki introduce the rest of them and they sat down by their table when Hari asked them two, because like she told them; "you're giving me a crick in the neck!"

Hari resisted the urge to shift in her seat as she observed the boys that were a part of Saeki's team, she blinked when she noticed the wide eyes of Aoi as he stared at her.

"Um," she looked from him to Saeki and back again waiting for him to say something.

"What have you been doing?" Aoi asked curiously.

"Jiro-kun has tried to kill me with tennis," Hari quipped and smiled wider as she saw the startled looks from his team.

"Jiro-kun?" Aoi repeated shocked.

Saeki tilted his head as he looked at Hari before he smiled amusedly.

"Mm-mm," Hari nodded. "You have a problem with that?"

Aoi shook his head in negative before looking at Saeki.

"Don't look at me," he said, "she's the one who decided to call me that."

"What? You're teaching her tennis, Saeki?" Kisarazu Ryo asked looking at Saeki and talking like Hari wasn't even there. He missed the annoyed look Hari gave him, but Saeki saw it and almost winced.

"I don't know if…"

"Because I mean, with all of Oji-sensei's practice and stuff I don't think you have the time to waste on teaching a pretty girl to play tennis," Kisarazu continued.

"What did I say," Kurobane snapped and glared at his teammate, "don't be rude."

Hari narrowed her eyes as she looked at the long-haired boy; he gave her a cold look and a snort of disinterest before looking away. He didn't apologize and an awkward silence stretched between them.

Saeki opened his mouth to say something, but Hari stopped him as she tilted her head staring at Kisarazu. He wasn't sure what to expect when Hari smiled at his idiotic teammate who had opened his mouth and spoken about something he knew nothing about. And now Hari was annoyed and he could only start to imagine what that would mean for his teammate.

"Well, if you don't think I'm worth teaching then why don't you play a game with me and we'll see," Hari suggested innocently. "I mean if you're not too scared to play against someone who's only had one real lesson with Jiro-kun. I'm only a 'pretty girl', right?"

"I'm not kind like Saeki," Kisarazu scoffed as he glared at her, "I won't play 'nice' with you just because you're new to the game."

"That's fine," Hari still smiled and tilted her head to the other side.

"I'd crush you," he warned her.

"Nothing new," Hari shrugged and leaned back as she still smiled at him but her eyes were calculating and almost mischievous reminding Saeki that she also liked her pranks.

"Fine," Kisarazu said.

...

They ended up at the courts that belonged to Rokkaku Middle School and Hari glanced around curiously as she took in the various playground equipment that was scattered around the court. It was no surprise that there were plenty of kids playing and their laughter was loud and cheerful.

"Oniisan's," the choir of kids called when they spotted the tennis team approaching.

Hari watched as Saeki and the others were surrounded by kids and they smiled and answered their questions with patience and kindness.

"Who are you?" A boy with blond hair asked or rather demanded.

"Echizen Hari," Hari said with a small smile.

"What are you doing here?"

"She's going to play Ryo-niisan," Aoi grinned.

"EH? But she's a girl," one of the boys said.

"Ryo-niisan will crush her," another one said.

"Let's just wait and see," Saeki sighed giving Hari an apologetic look but Hari just shrugged. They were kids and she didn't take offence by their words, besides she would show them just how good a girl could be.

They walked to the court and Hari got out her purple racket and gripped it a couple of times before she got ready on her side of the court. She hid her smirk as she stared at the arrogant looking boy on the other side of the court with the cheering kids behind the fence behind him.

Saeki and the rest of the team was gathered at the side of the court watching. Everyone but Saeki looked slightly worried.

"Ready?" Kisarazu asked. "There's still time to back out."

"Just start," Hari said.

"Fine," Kisarazu sighed.

...

He started with a serve that clearly was meant to be a hard ball to catch and Hari could tell that he didn't intend to go easy on her at all. She missed the ball, but it was all part of her plan.

15-0

He served another ball and she hit it back before he returned it making her miss it, but again she didn't show anything on her face as she watched him.

30-0

He smirked at her as he served once more making the ball spin in the air and change direction and she knew that this was a difficult ball to stop, but with her speed, she would be able to do so. Yet she allowed it to get past her just missing it.

40-0

The next one and he would win the game without her getting a point. Hari knew she looked to be as weak as he suggested. She knew and she planned for it. She saw the way his confident filled and he had a smug look on his face.

1-0

...

"Maybe this wasn't a good idea at all," Aoi worried at the side as he stared at the beautiful girl on the court. She was not getting a point of Kisarazu and it looked like a difficult game. He looked at Saeki who was looking very calm as he watched the game.

"Saeki," Shudo said quietly, "are you sure this is a good idea?"

"Just wait and watch," Saeki told them. "She's playing…"

Aoi frowned and looked at the court where Kisarazu just took the last point meaning he won the first game. Yet, Hari didn't look worried or even annoyed. She was smiling slightly as she nodded at something before getting ready to serve.

Aoi blinked when he saw her form and the way she held the ball and the racket.

"Oi, oi," a voice to his right said and he turned to see their coach having joined them. "This girl is someone special…"

"Eh?" Aoi blinked and looked back at the court just in time to see Hari perform a perfect, or near perfect, Slice Serve. It took Kisarazu by surprise and he was unable to move as he stared at the place the ball had sped past him.

"Finally," Saeki commented.

"Eh?" Aoi said again but he wasn't the only one who was confused. The rest of the team was just as confused as they stared at the girl that had not gotten a point at the last game.

"It was just luck," Kisarazu called over at Hari, but Aoi wasn't sure.

"Hm? You think so?" Hari asked with a smile.

"Everyone can get a lucky shot once in a while," Kisarazu said.

"Well, want to bet?" Hari asked.

"Yeah!"

Aoi heard Saeki sigh next to him and glanced at him to see him shake his head slightly, but he didn't say anything.

"I say that I'll successfully use the Slice Serve for the remainder of this game," Hari said, "and you will have to add some colour to your hair by my choosing."

Kisarazu looked momentarily doubtful and Aoi could understand him, but he nodded in agreement.

"Fine," he said, "if you fail, and I think you will, then you'll cut your hair as short as I feel fit."

"Deal," Hari agreed right away.

"Oh boy," Aoi said wide-eyed. "She's brave."

"He's an idiot," Saeki shook his head.

"You think she'll make the next three serves?" Amane Hikaru asked.

Saeki didn't answer and they turned their attention back to the court where Hari was prepared to take the next serve. She held the racket in the continental grip, Aoi noticed that now, and tossed the ball up and hit the ball cleanly at the right side and the ball spun and curved to Kisarazu's left and out of his reach.

Hari lined up again and did the same thing and once more the ball spun too fast and curved to sharply for Kisarazu to catch up to it. He was frowning now.

Hari took her stance and gripped her racket as she watched him, she could tell he was not as confident as before but he tried to appear as if he was. She smirked. She tossed the ball up in the air and hit it remembering what Tezuka had told her and felt her racket hit the ball with the right amount of force and cleanly.

He missed the ball and scowled at her.

Hari smirked as she looked at him. They were now even and he had lost the bet.

1-1

...

The rest of the match was close, but Hari pulled away at the end and won 6-3.

"SHE WON!" Aoi yelled excitedly and slightly shocked.

"She did," Kurobane nodded.

"She did great," Itsuki added before blowing air through his nose, sounding like a train or something.

Saeki smiled as he walked over to Hari and threw an arm around her shoulder as he grinned at her.

"You did it," he said.

She smiled back at him and wondered why his arm felt so warm, but again she pushed the thought away as she looked at the team who was staring at her. Aoi looked like he would bounce around the court if not for Kurobane holding him in place with a hand placed on his shoulders.

Kisarazu looked stunned as he stood rooted on the other side of the court and hadn't moved since the match ended.

"You're not a newcomer to tennis," Shudo commented seriously as he stared at her.

Hari tilted her head and smiled at him, "I never said I was."

"But…" Kisarazu who had stormed over to them stared at her. "You let me believe…"

"It was your words," Hari told him, "your assumptions and I never said I never played tennis before."

They stared at her surprised and then looked at Saeki who held up his hands.

"Don't look at me," he said, "you should know that you shouldn't judge someone by gender or looks. Hari-chan is a great tennis player."

"Yes, she is," Oji interrupted and walked up to them. "You have a special talent, young girl."

Hari blinked at him and looked to Saeki who smiled.

"This is our coach, Oji," he introduced. "Oji, this is Echizen Hari."

"Are you a student here at Rokkaku, Echizen-san?" Oji asked leaning on his cane as he looked at her.

"No, I'm not," Hari said.

"Too bad," he hummed, "perhaps you would like to transfer over?"

The others looked surprised but Saeki looked less so than the others while Hari blinked.

"Oh, I'm not really looking for a new school at the moment," Hari said, "and I'm happy at my own school."

Oji sighed but nodded.

"Have you played tennis for a long time, Echizen-san?" Aoi asked. "You're very good."

Hari made a thinking noise as she thought on how to answer.

"I've played on and off since I was 8 years old," Hari said, "but it's only now that I'm actually on a team and focusing on playing tennis."

"But didn't you say that Saeki was teaching you tennis?"

Saeki shook his head amused as Hari just smiled.

"I'm only teaching her how to develop her talent for the motion vision," Saeki finally explained. "She's got the basic of it down, but she wanted to learn more so I agreed to teach her."

Hari pouted at him, "why did you say that, Jiro-kun? It would have been more fun to have them guess."

"I know you think that," Saeki rolled his eyes, "but I like the sanity of my team and if I let you lose then they will lose it."

"I'm not that bad," Hari huffed. "I haven't even started on which colour Kisarazu have to highlight his hair…"

Kisarazu paled while Saeki grimaced slightly as he glanced at his teammate.

"I…"

"You want to back out?" Hari tilted her head as she looked at him. "Hm… then I'll find something worse for you to do… You lost your bet and now you will have to live with it."

He sighed, "fine."

"Awesome," Hari grinned at him and before anyone could say anything else she skipped over to her bag and grabbed it. "I'll be back in a little bit. Wait here!"

Saeki's eyes widened as he watched Hari run off and grimaced. Uh-oh, he thought. That would end up in a disaster. Well, the shop (he guessed she was looking for that) was just around the corner so she should find it alright. He decided to have faith in her and wait and see.

"Soo… just who is she, Saeki?" Kurobane asked.

"Yeah! What Bane-chan said, who is she?!" Aoi bounced up and down, "she's really pretty. Does she have a boyfriend?"

"What school does she go to?" Amane asked.

Saeki sighed as he rubbed his neck.

"She's a friend," he said, "I met her a few weeks ago. And, I don't know if she has a boyfriend. She hasn't said anything and I haven't asked. And last, she attends Seigaku Middle School in Tokyo."

Oji arched a grey brow at that as he hummed. "Interesting."

"So she's on the girls' team there?"

"No," Saeki shook his head. "She's on the boy's team. Not a regular yet, but she will be soon. I'm sure of it."

...

Saeki glanced at the clock and frowned. He looked toward the gate of the school and sighed.

"She's using a long time…" Aoi commented.

"Yeah," Saeki sighed. "She's probably…"

What she probably was they didn't hear because Hari came through the gates with a small bag in one hand and waving with the other one.

"You got lost again, didn't you?" Saeki asked when she was close enough.

"No!" Hari shook her head. "You didn't tell me the store was so difficult to find!"

"It's just around the corner," Saeki arched a brow at her.

"It moved," Hari pouted.

"Sure it did," Saeki snorted.

"Hey," Hari scowled at him. "I don't get lost."

"Then how did we meet, Hari-chan?" Saeki smirked.

Hari huffed, "details."

"Proof," he said with a laugh.

"How did you meet?" Aoi interrupted them.

Hari sighed and shook her head while Saeki chuckled.

"She got lost and ended up in Chiba," he told them making the rest of the team laugh and Hari pouted.

"Cute," Aoi stated and Hari rolled her eyes but didn't respond to his wide eyes as he stared at her.

"Anyway," Hari turned toward Kisarazu who looked resigned. "This one."

She pulled out a tube of blue hair dye and then a white one.

"Two colours?" he frowned.

"Mhm," Hari nodded. "Blue and white, the colours of my team."

He sighed and nodded.

...

A while later they all waited for Kisarazu to step out and show them the result. Hari was smiling and looking relaxed on her seat next to Saeki.

"Come on," Hari called out. "I have to leave soon. I want to see the result before I go."

"You're evil," Kisarazu said as he stepped out.

His long hair was now blue and white in between the black making it clear that her inspiration had been Seigaku's colours and Hari grinned.

"Sugoi," she laughed. "Very cool."

"I look stupid," he muttered.

His teammates laughed and nudged his shoulder.

"Well, you do look pretty," Amane snorted.

Kurobane swatted him annoyed but he smiled a little right after as he looked at Kisarazu.

"It's not that bad," he said.

Kisarazu scowled but he shrugged and looked at Hari. He stepped up and gave her a bow.

"Hontou ni gomen nasai," he said sincerely. "I shouldn't have talked to or about you like that, Echizen-san."

Hari looked at him for a moment before she nodded.

"Thank you," she accepted his apology.

...

Hari was still in a good mood when she got to school two days later. She had talked with Saeki on texts the day before while working on her homework for her Charm lessons, and gotten reassurances that Kisarazu was alright and not to upset by the bet and the consequences.

She walked to the classroom when she spotted the first years again gathered in the hallway whispering. She tilted her head as she observed them for a moment while getting closer to them.

"…he was out there again today…"

"…what do you think he was doing?"

"…I don't think we should be spying on him…"

Was among the things they were whispering and Hari was very curious about who they were talking about. They were clearly spying on someone and the curiosity in her was awakened. It wasn't exactly like it was back in Hogwarts, but Ron and Hermione would be the first to say that Hari was a very curious person. Only this time Hari doubted that the answer would bring her any danger.

"You know…if you're talking about spying on someone you shouldn't do that in the hallway where anyone could hear you," Hari spoke up making the three boys jump high in the air and spun around to look at her.

"Ah…E-Echizen-san," Kachiro stuttered.

"How long have you been there?" Mizuno asked eyes flickering around the hallway.

"You shouldn't spy on us!" Horio yelled.

Hari arched a brow at him. "Isn't that like a pot calling a kettle black?"

"Huh?" they looked at her confused.

Hari rolled her eyes. "You were just talking about spying on someone and then accusing me of spying on you…"

"Oh," they said.

"Well?" Hari tilted her head. "This is the second time I find you like this… It's very curious."

"It's none of your business," Horio tried to say bravely while the other two looked worried.

"Hm, maybe not," Hari shrugged, "but I want to know anyway. Who are you spying on?"

They refused to say anything and Hari sighed. "More job on me. I'll find out."

They hurried away and she hummed as she stared after them.

"Yes, I will," she told herself. "A new little mystery."

...

She found out right before practice when she saw the three boys trying to hide very poorly around a corner while staring at Inui. She arched a brow surprised. Were they spying on Inui? Why?

She shifted her focus over at Inui who was pulling out a bottle of something she couldn't tell what was. She tilted her head as she saw the scary smile on Inui's face and she wondered if she needed to be worried.

She shrugged it off and went to warm up together with Ryoma who smiled at her and instantly the contest between the two was on. They raced around the court and ignored the cheering from Kikumaru as they raced.

"I won!" Hari cheered when they got to what they had deemed the finish line.

"Only because you cheated," Ryoma scoffed.

"I did not cheat," Hari frowned at him but a smile threatened to take over because she knew she had been a little harsh in the last turn.

Ryoma rolled his eyes but he didn't say anything because they both knew that they didn't really have any rules when they ran like this. It was fun and exciting.

"I'll beat you next time," Ryoma said.

"You can try," Hari stuck her tongue out at him.

"Gather around!" Tezuka called out and effectively ending the bickering between Hari and Ryoma much to the others amusement.

...

Hari jogged over to the other boys who wasn't a part of the regulars and joined them in their training. She saw the looks she got but she ignored it and grabbed her racket.

"Hey," Hari looked to her side and saw a very tall and lanky boy with short spiky dark hair and dark eyes looking at her.

"Hey," Hari answered a little unsure, but not unfriendly.

"I'm Nagayama Michio," he said shyly. "I, um, just thought I would say hey."

Hari smiled warmer at him. "Well, hey."

He chuckled. "Want to pair up?"

Hari nodded, "sure. That would be great."

She felt a little surprised by him approaching her but felt grateful since she had been a little worried about being on her own with the other boys. She knew that until she worked to prove herself they would be…difficult, she guessed she could say. But unlike with how it had been over at the girls' team, she had Ryoma and the other regulars who was becoming her friends and that would make it easier to deal with those who disapproved of her being there.

So, she was pleasantly surprised when Nagayama approached her and seemed friendly. They worked together in silence for the most part, but much to Hari's relief it wasn't stifling or tense. She smiled a little as she returned a ball from him and saw him having to reach for it but he made it.

They heard the noise coming from the regulars and Hari glanced over at the court and saw Inui smirking (in what she only could call an evil way) at Oishi who suddenly screamed and ran a couple of steps before collapsing.

"Oishi!" Kikumaru's voice was the loudest of the worried calls to their Vice-Captain.

"Inui-san must be out with his juice again," Nagayama commented.

"Eh?" Hari asked confused.

"You haven't heard of it yet?" he asked her and she shook her head. "Well, he makes something that has been dubbed 'Inui-juice' because…well, they're unique. And…you just saw the result from drinking it."

"They normally collapse when drinking it?" Hari arch a brow surprised.

"Eventually," Nagayama grimaced. "Though, normally they manage to get a little farther…"

Hari looked at Inui who was frowning slightly before writing in his book, probably getting new data. The others looked worried and determined. She hummed as she turned her attention back to Nagayama and their practice. While most had stopped to watch the regulars, Hari wanted to get her practice down because she wanted to improve. Obviously.

...

"Ah! Back then!" Hari heard Kachiro yell and looked over to the first years that looked at each other and clearly had worked something out.

"That was what he was doing!" Horio declared. "Finding ingredients for his new Inui-juice!"

"I never want to drink that," Mizuno shuddered.

Hari snorted. Looks like her mystery was solved. How…boring. She snorted quietly at herself. Was she disappointed that the mystery was that easy and normal? This was what she wanted. A life with no life and death mysteries. So, it was good.

Perhaps she had gotten a little too used to the mysteries at Hogwarts and kind of missed the thrill? She frowned. Did she miss that? No, but she had gotten so used to being drawn into trouble that when a mystery turned out to have a normal and boring explanation she was unused to that.

She wasn't even making sense of this in her head.

"You okay?" Nagayama asked.

"I'm fine," Hari smiled at him. "Thanks."

...

"You had to drink it, huh?" Hari asked as she stared at Ryoma who was leaned over the water station while Oishi and Kaido were lying on the ground moaning.

"Sh-shut up," Ryoma moaned.

Hari shook her head, "is it really that bad?"

"Worse," Oishi groaned.

Hari wondered if it was worse than potions, but she wasn't sure if she ever wanted to find out. If a look at them was any indication, she would say that she never wanted to.

"It's not that bad," Fuji said as he joined them.

"Sou ka?" Hari looked at him.

He smiled at her with his eyes closed (like normal) and she had a feeling he was trying to trick her. She snorted.

"Somehow, I'm not sure I believe you," Hari said and he pretended to look hurt but she laughed and he smiled.

"Ka-chan," Hari looked at Kaido, "are you okay?"

 **"** **I'm going to die,"** he hissed.

"I'm sure it's not that bad," Hari told him automatically making Fuji give her a curious look.

Kaido just hissed something again but Hari didn't catch it this time.

...

Atobe stood in the shadow and watched her. She was talking with the others of her team, and wasn't that a surprise? She was a part of the boys' team. He had not expected that. He was also more than convinced that she was the right Harriett Lily Potter that his parents had been looking for. It was a thrilling and confusing thought for him because he felt a thrill of having found her, but confused about where she had been all this time.

He had watched the entire practice and he must admit that she was good. She had talent and would be even better with a little more practice. Something he would help her with is she wanted to. He wondered if his parents would have her move in with them. That would be great, and then he might not be so lonely. He quickly got rid of the thought. He never liked to dwell on that. But there was the question about where she was living now, so maybe she wouldn't want to move in with them despite her parents being connected to his.

When they all had changed and Hari had joined the rest of the regulars. Atobe knew some of them, like Tezuka and Fuji. The others he had met briefly but didn't really know. It was clear that while Hari wasn't a regular, she was seen as one of them and that would have been great if Atobe wasn't planning on getting her to transfer over to Hyotei.

He inhaled before stepping forward and making his presence known for the Seigaku tennis team who all stopped walking as he did.

"Ah! It's you!" Momoshiro exclaimed pointing at him wildly.

Atobe arched a perfect brow at him before his onyx eyes found Hari who looked back at him with an unimpressed look. What was with that? He mentally asked. She really didn't seem to be impressed by him and he wasn't sure he liked that.

"What are you doing here?" Hari asked bored.

"You know him, Hari-chan?" Fuji asked curiously but Atobe caught the calculating look he quickly hid behind his mask of closed eyes and kind smile as he looked at Hari. Atobe hid a shiver, he really didn't want to piss off Fuji if he could help it.

"Well, not really," Hari shrugged.

"He's the one who asked her out;" Momoshiro said.

"Atobe asked you out," Kikumaru asked surprised. "Momo! You didn't say it was _him_!"

Atobe sighed as he was suddenly glared at by the team, especially the youngest one there with eyes that reminded him of a cat.

"Honestly," Hari sighed, "it's no big deal. Atobe-san, what are you doing here?"

"I'm here to talk to you," Atobe said confidently. "Privately."

Hari arched a brow as she stared at him.

"And why should I talk with you privately? I don't know you," Hari said.

Atobe sighed. Why was she so stubborn?

"I have something to tell you that would be best to talk about in private," he told her meeting her eyes.

Hari stared at him. She wasn't sure she should go and talk to him on her own because she didn't know him and he had been trying to get her out on a date. She hid a grimace. Was this another attempt to get her on a date?

 **...**

 **...**

 **AN:** **What do you think? :) I didn't really plan on having her spend so much time with the Rokkaku team, but they wouldn't let go so Hari ended up spending more time with them. Hope you liked it. XD**

 **Sorry about the very late update! I honestly meant for this to be ready earlier, but a little writing block in addition to a crazy week with a job interview at the start of the week helped to make the update delayed. So, I apologize for the delay. Thank you for your patience!**

 **Thanks for your support! Thank you to all of you who have left a review, favourited and/or followed the story! I really appreciate it! It really does help me with keeping motivated for the story! XD**

 **Japanese words used:**

 **Honto - Really**  
 **Daijobu - All right**  
 **Yatta - Yey**  
 **Osu - Hey**  
 **Hajimemashite - Nice to meet you**  
 **Sugoi - Amazing**  
 **Hontou ni gomen nasai - I'm really sorry**  
 **Sou ka? - Is that so?**


	15. Lily's your what?

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or the Prince of Tennis!**

 **...**

 **...**

 _inner dialogue/thoughts or_ memory

 **...**

 _ **...**_

Hari stared at Atobe with a searching look. He stared back at her and while he kind of reminded her of Draco Malfoy with the confidence and superior aura around him, like he thought he was better than anyone around him, there was something….something different about him. It was the way his eyes seemed to almost beg her to talk to him. Now, why would he need to talk to her that badly?

"Why don't we talk right over there," Atobe spoke up when the silence stretched on and pointed to the side. Hari glanced over and saw that it would be out of the others hearing distance but not outside of their view. "That way your friends can see us, but I can still talk to you alone. Tanomu."

Hari narrowed her eyes, "what's so important that you have to talk to me alone?"

Though, she couldn't keep the curiosity out of her voice as she asked. She noticed how he shifted slightly on his feet, she wasn't sure the others noticed this at all because it was very minutely. Did he seem nervous?

"I will tell you," Atobe said, "I'm not going to ask you out again. I promise."

Hari arched a brow and sighed.

"Fine," she finally said. "Ryo-chan, would you mind waiting for me?"

Ryoma was staring at Atobe as well and took a moment before he looked away from Atobe to look at her. She saw the concern in his eyes as he looked at her searchingly.

"Of course not," he said.

"We'll wait," Fuji spoke up calmly but Hari caught the warning look he threw at Atobe.

She gave him a small smile to show her gratefulness before walking away and knew Atobe followed her. She wondered why she even bothered to agree with this, or why she suddenly felt a stab of foreboding and that kind of stabbing feeling in the stomach that told her that something unexpected was about to happen. It was a feeling she knew very well and it had never brought anything good with it.

A flash of a giant green snake with yellow eyes and a head with two faces crossed her mind and she had to work to push it out and not show allow a grimace to access her face. She hoped it worked.

"So, what is it you need to talk to me about?" Hari asked arching a brow at him as she looked at him.

He didn't say anything for a moment and she considered probing him again, but she kept silent and just watched him.

"Do you really not know who I am?" he asked.

She blinked at him before frowning.

"Should I?" she asked wondering what he was on about.

He nodded and his eyes were staring searchingly at her like he was looking for a lie.

"Well, I don't," Hari scowled. "Was that it?"

He sighed and looked a little annoyed, "I don't understand why you don't know… I mean, your mother was my godmother."

Hari stilled completely as she stared at him with round eyes behind her glasses not comprehending what he had just said. He was still looking at her with that look of his and the confidence still clung around him, but there was something else there as well. Something Hari couldn't tell.

"Nan da to?" she managed to get out. "How…I don't…"

"Lily Potter was my godmother," Atobe repeated slowly.

It was a shock hearing her mother's name so unexpected and her first thought was that it was a lie, a trap and a way to get her to go back to the Magical World, even if it didn't make sense.

"I…No one ever told me," Hari looked at him suspiciously. "How do I know you're telling me the truth?"

"This isn't really the place for that conversation," Atobe said glancing toward where Ryoma and the regulars were waiting, watching. "I…"

"I'm not going anywhere with you," Hari interrupted him with a scowl and her arms crossed over her chest as she stared at him.

She was feeling unsettled and wanted more than anything to walk away because this couldn't be true. She would have known if her mum had a godchild.

Wouldn't she?

 _Like you knew you had a godfather?_ A small voice whispered in her ear sounding very much like Hermione.

 _That's different_ , Hari told the voice.

 _How?_

"Why are you so stubborn?!" Atobe snapped interrupting her inner discussion making Hari look at him again.

"I don't know you," Hari told him with narrowed eyes, "and you want me to go with you? How do I know that you're not trying to take me back there? Or that you're not with them? I'm not going back! It's an original story, I'll give you that, but I'm not falling for it."

She thought how easily she had been tricked before, with both Quirrell and Tom Riddle, even with Sirius and Wormtail in some degree. How easily she had been tricked into believing something and led to believe lies and ended up in dangerous situations. She wouldn't make the same mistake again…

Atobe gaped at her for a moment and looked honestly confused making her wonder if he really was telling the truth before she steeled herself again. She wasn't going to fall for it, she wasn't going to risk being tricked into going back. Not when she finally had a family, when she had Ryoma in her life again.

"What are you talking about?" he asked shocked. Even Hari could tell it was an unfamiliar look on his face. "Take you back where? I'm just talking about going to my house so I can explain just who I am and how we're connected."

Hari arched a brow, "I'm not going to your house."

He looked like he wanted to groan, but he refrained with what looked like a great effort.

"Fine," he sighed and frowned at her again.

Hari just glared back while trying to get control over her raging thoughts and unsettled feelings. Did he really tell her the truth? Was he her mum's godson? Why hadn't anyone told her that her mum had a godson?

"How can you be mum's godson?" Hari asked letting some of her confusion show, "I mean… how did you even knew her?"

He sighed and looked away from her for a moment as if he was thinking on what to say or how to say it. Hari felt the impatience nag at her to demand answers, but she bit down on her lower lip to stop it from bursting out.

"My mother is half Japanese and half English," Atobe finally said meeting her eyes. "She is the daughter of a businessman who owned several of the businesses in Cokeworth."

Hari blinked. That was the small town where they had spent the night at a hotel running from her Hogwarts letter, wasn't it? A memory she had not really thought about came back to her.

" _I don't like being back here, Vernon," Aunt Petunia said quietly._

" _It's just for a night, Pet," Uncle Vernon reassured her. "I know you don't have good memories of this town."_

" _It's just…I keep seeing her at every corner," Aunt Petunia said._

" _It's just imagination," he grimaced at the word, "we will be gone tomorrow. You never have to be back here again."_

Hari hadn't thought much about it and hadn't really thought about it since, but it was clear that aunt Petunia had some connection to the place.

"My mother's best friend was a girl from one of the Middle-Class families," Atobe continued breaking into Hari's memories. "Her name was Lily Evans and they were the same age and were in the same class at school. My grandfather saw the use in having mother attend a regular school and get to know the people in the middle class, the families of his workers."

Hari wanted him to get to the point, to the part with her mother. So, this town had been her mother's hometown? Hari hadn't known that…

"Mother and Lily were close from the start and did everything together," Atobe continued. "Mother said Lily was the closest she had to a sister, and even though Lily had a sister my mother was a sister to her as well."

Hari couldn't help but be caught up in his story, always wanting to hear more about her parents. It shook her stance about not believing him.

"They kept in touch even as Lily started the boarding school and mother started her private school when they turned 11," Atobe smiled a little. "They wrote each other and met up during their holidays. When mother married father Lily was her maid of honour and when I was born a year later she was the natural choice for godmother. She was already married to James by then and pregnant with you."

Hari couldn't help it. She had to keep listening even as she told herself that it couldn't be true, but it was sounding more and more like a lie in her ears as she listened to him talk about her mum and dad with more details than she ever knew.

"Our parents talked about us, how I would be like your older brother," Atobe said with a small frown on his face. "I, obviously, don't remember meeting you when you were born but Mother has pictures of us together. I'm holding you with the help of Lily and showing you a stuffed animal."

He looked at her now with a sort of pleading look, a look she knew would be very uncharacteristic for him just out from what she had seen of him.

"I…" Hari frowned. "I never knew…"

He frowned again, "I have no idea why you wouldn't know…"

"I never knew much about my parents," Hari admitted quietly.

Atobe looked surprised, then angry but he pushed it away and she saw the effort it took him. She also saw the effort it took for him to not ask her about it and she was wondering if she really could believe him.

But even if what he told her was the truth what did that mean for her? Did it really make any difference to her right now?

"Mother could tell you more about Lily," Atobe told her with a surprisingly gentle voice.

Hari had no idea what to think anymore nor what to do. This was all getting to be too much and she felt her mind spinning with all the new information. Information that came out of nothing and was bringing a part of her life back that she so desperately tried to avoid.

"I need to think," she muttered. "I…"

Atobe sighed and looked frustrated but he nodded. "Fine, here..:"

Hari blinked when a small piece of paper was held in front of her and she saw a name and number was written on it.

"My number," he explained. "Call me when you have thought about it."

His mask was up again and he smirked at her with the confidence she had seen in him earlier, he took a step back and turned around to leave. He took a couple of steps before he paused and turned around again to look at her.

"Hari-chan, I hope you will consider coming to meet my parents," he said seriously. "They have really been worried about you and…they think you're dead like aunt Lily and uncle James."

With that, he turned and walked away leaving Hari standing there stunned and unmoving staring after him.

...

"Hari?" Ryoma sounded almost frantic as he shook her lightly. "Are you alright?"

Hari blinked and saw Ryoma and the rest of the regulars' right behind him all watching her worriedly.

"What did he tell you?" Fuji asked as his eyes flashed.

Hari shook her head trying to gather her thoughts again and looked away from them and at the piece of paper in her hand before she shoved it into her pocket. She inhaled deeply and gave them a smile to reassure them.

"I'm fine," she said. "Just… a little shocked."

"Shocked?" Momoshiro tilted his head as he watched her. "It looked to be a serious talk…"

"Did he ask you out again?" Kikumaru asked. "Do we need to beat him up for you?!"

"Eiji!" Oishi sighed exasperatedly. "Don't talk like that."

"But, Oishi! If he asked her out then we have to because we have to protect her!" Kikumaru whined. "If he hurt her…"

Hari tuned him out and focused on Ryoma who was looking worriedly at her.

"He just…" Hari frowned because she didn't really want to tell them. Not yet. Not when she wasn't sure what to think herself yet. She sighed.

"Well," Tezuka cleared his throat and got the others attention right away even Kikumaru stopped arguing with Oishi about the duty to protect Hari from Atobe. "You know you can talk to us if you need to, Hari-san. Now, go home and be prepared for practice tomorrow!"

He directed the last order to all of them and Hari shot him a grateful smile to which he returned with a short nod before turning away and walked in the other direction.

...

Hari stared at the page in her book. The words were meaningless to her right now, they only swam in front of her eyes not making any sense as her mind was too focused on the conversation with Atobe and the fact that he was somehow connected to her mother.

Was it true? Was her mum really his godmother?

A flash of anger hit her as she thought that it was yet another thing hidden from her, yet another part of her family history that was hidden and withheld from her. Did Dumbledore know? She wasn't sure if he would know about Lily's friends outside of school. It wasn't normal for a headmaster to know about stuff like that about their students.

 _But Dumbledore wasn't a normal headmaster now, was he? Nor was Lily just a normal student, either._

The small voice in her mind whispered in her mind, and it was true, Hari thought. From what Remus and Sirius (the little time she had with him) had said Dumbledore had been in her parents' lives even after graduation.

She sighed and rubbed her eyes trying to focus on the homework for once, but it seemed like an impossible task. She pushed the book away from her frustrated and got up starting to pace the floor and shot Hedwig an apologetic look when she hooted annoyed at her.

"Hari?" Ryoma poked his head into her room and gave her a concerned look. "Doshita?"

She rolled her eyes at him before falling back at her bed not answering him. She felt bad but right now she couldn't focus on it. She was aware that Ryoma entered her room and sat down on the edge of the bed watching her.

"You've been distracted ever since Atobe talked with you," Ryoma said after a while.

"Hm," Hari sat up and reached over at the nightstand and pulled the small drawer open and somehow managed to pull out her photo album ignoring the letter from Sirius that fell out at the same movement and landed on the floor.

She flipped through the album almost frantically until she found the pictures of her parents' wedding. She was aware that Ryoma was watching her, but he didn't say anything.

She took a moment to watch her mum's smile and brilliant auburn hair and green eyes, and her dad's awed smile and glasses that was sitting lopsidedly on his nose and his messy wild hair. She then started to look at the surrounding people.

She found Sirius and Remus, both looking younger and happier than she had ever seen them before and she felt a stab of pain at the thought of all they had been through now that had made them both age so much. She briefly thought about sending a letter to Sirius or Remus about Atobe. They would know, Hari was sure, but… if she asked about it, they would easily figure out where she was. There was no way they wouldn't connect the question to her location, so no. She couldn't and wouldn't ask them.

Besides…she felt a little annoyed that they hadn't told her either.

There.

She inhaled as she saw the picture of her mum with a woman with brown hair, onyx eyes and a tear-mole under her right eye just as Atobe had. Was this his mother?

Both Lily and the other woman was smiling and had their arms linked together, and was waving up at her as they laughed happily.

"He was telling the truth," Hari whispered.

"Hari?" Ryoma asked.

Hari looked up at him. "He was telling the truth, Ryo-chan," she repeated.

"Truth about what?" Ryoma asked confused.

"Mum was his godmother," Hari told Ryoma who arched a brow surprised. "His mum and my mum were best friends…"

She showed the picture to Ryoma and told him what Atobe had told her. She knew that she could trust Ryoma and she needed to talk to someone about it. She would have talked to Ron and Hermione but they weren't here and Ryoma was the one she trusted the most.

"Huh," Ryoma blinked when she was finished and he gave her a look that showed concern and understanding. "Okashii-naa."

Hari nodded.

"What should I do, Ryo-chan?" she asked.

He looked at her for a moment.

"What do you want to do, Hari?" he asked instead of answering.

She pulled a hand through her hair frustrated and confused.

"I don't know," she admitted honestly.

"Then wait and see," Ryoma told her. "You don't have to figure it out today."

Hari blinked at him making him stare back.

"Huh," Hari said and a slow smile started to spread on her face.

"What?" he scowled at her suspiciously. "Why are you smiling like that?"

"Like what, Ryo-chan?" Hari asked innocently.

"Like that!" Ryoma waved a hand at her.

"Just who would have thought you could be so mature and give such grown-up advice," Hari told him before laughing when he lunged for her and they crashed to the floor in a wrestling match both ignoring Hedwig's indignant hooting.

They twisted and rolled around the floor until the door was opened and Rinko and Nanako entered the room before stopping abruptly spotting the two wrestling kids on the floor.

"What's going on?" Rinko asked but she sounded amused.

Hari and Ryoma (who both had missed them entering the room) froze and looked up at them in what would be a very uncomfortable position. Their legs were locked together and Hari had her arm around Ryoma's shoulder while he was somehow managing to hold onto her as well.

"Um," they both blinked at them.

Nanako was holding a hand over her mouth hiding her smile and giggle.

"It sounded like you were trying to kill each other," Rinko told them with an arched brow. "Mind telling me what has you acting like little kids?"

They somehow managed to get free and out of the uncomfortable positions before getting back to their feet rubbing their necks looking sheepish.

"Just having fun," Hari shrugged.

"Yeah," Ryoma nodded.

Rinko sighed and looked between them before shaking her head muttering something about little kids as she turned and left the room.

...

The days passed by and Hari managed to get back into a regular rhythm of things and focused on tennis practice. She would be lying if she said she wasn't thinking about what Atobe had told her, or that she didn't look at the picture she had found in the album at all during the nights when she had trouble falling asleep or woke up because of her nightmares.

But all in all, she found her way to the new normality that was becoming her days at Seigaku. She was also very grateful that the regulars all let her pretend that the meeting with Atobe hadn't taken place. At least they didn't ask her about it and if they gave her curious looks then she chose to ignore it.

Hari was playing with Ryoma during practice when Ryuzaki suddenly called them over. Hari smiled when she saw Sakuno standing beside the older woman looking for a cross between confused and embarrassed.

"Hey, Sakuno-chan," Hari smiled at her and took in her tennis outfit. "You've been at practice?"

Sakuno nodded and blushed as she glanced at Ryoma who was watching stoically.

"Ah, Ryoma and Hari," Ryuzaki smiled at them. "Are you free tomorrow, Ryoma?"

"What about it?" Ryoma asked.

Hari tilted her head curiously, "he is."

"Sakuno's strings are all messed up," Ryuzaki told them. "I was planning on taking her to Haritatsu's, but I can't. You know him, right Ryoma?"

Hari glanced at Ryoma who looked bored and not really interested, but she nudged him making him frown at her.

"He would be delighted to take Sakuno-chan to meet him," Hari said for Ryoma who shot her a glare before blanking his face out before Sakuno noticed.

"Hari-chan!" Sakuno blushed furiously.

"Wonderful," Ryuzaki said amusedly.

"Grandma!" Sakuno turned to her.

"You'll do it, right, Ryo-chan?" Hari smiled widely at her little brother who gave her a look that clearly said he wasn't impressed. Hari just smiled wider.

"Fine," he sighed.

"Accepting a girl's request makes you at least a somewhat useful guy," Ryuzaki said turning toward Sakuno who had stopped looking frantically and embarrassedly at her grandmother and Hari and was now blushingly staring at the ground.

"Ari-Arigato gozaimasu," Sakuno managed to say as she bowed to Ryoma.

"Ha," Ryoma said but glared when Hari slapped his arm.

"Attitude," she told him firmly and he stuck out his tongue at her.

"Very mature, Ryo-chan," Hari rolled her eyes at him before looking at Sakuno who was watching them with wide brown eyes. Hari smiled kindly at her and stepped away from her brother and linked her arm with Sakuno's. "Come on, Sakuno-chan."

"Wh-where are we going?" she stuttered slightly but she followed (not that Hari really left her a choice as she was dragging her by the linked arms).

"I missed practising with you," Hari told her. "Let's go and practice together."

"H-hai," Sakuno smiled.

Ryuzaki was left with Ryoma staring after Hari and Sakuno who just rounded a corner and disappeared from view. Ryuzaki had a pensive look on her face as she watched. Hari seemed to have taken a liking to Sakuno, Ryuzaki noted a little surprised but pleased. She knew her granddaughter was a very timid girl and had problems with her confidence, but she was a good girl and was very compassionate. Hari could, hopefully, help bring Sakuno out of her shell a little.

"Can I go back to practice now?" Ryoma asked bringing Ryuzaki out of her musings.

"Of course," Ryuzaki nodded.

...

Sakuno was still a little flushed and Hari smiled amusedly as she watched the younger girl.

"Will you come tomorrow as well?" Sakuno asked when they stopped at a spot underneath some trees.

"I don't think so," Hari said leaning toward a tree and observed Sakuno who blushed again. It was more fun than it should be to watch Sakuno blush, but it was so easy… "Why? You hoped that I would?"

Sakuno looked away and Hari allowed herself to smile.

"Don't worry," Hari laughed making Sakuno look at her. "It's fine. You and Ryo-chan will have the day to yourself."

"I…I didn't… I didn't mean…" Sakuno stammered.

Hari just grinned making Sakuno blush again.

"Don't take it so seriously, Sakuno-chan," Hari told her. "I'm just teasing you."

Sakuno nodded and fiddled with the hem of her shirt.

"Oi!" a loud voice interrupted them and Sakuno looked a little relieved when they spotted Tomoka coming toward them waving. "What are you doing?!"

"We're going to practice tennis," Sakuno explained calmer now at the sight of her best friend.

Tomoka glanced between the two with curious eyes, "oh? I thought you were on the boys' team now, Hari-chan?"

"I am," Hari smiled at the girl. "I just thought it would be fun to practice with Sakuno-chan, so I'm doing that."

Tomoka looked between them before she nodded.

"I was wondering if you wanted to come over to my place tomorrow if you're free, Sakuno?" Tomoka asked.

"Oh, um," Sakuno looked nervous again. "I have to get the strings on my racket fixed…."

"Oh," Tomoka looked disappointed.

"And…Ryoma-kun is going to take me," Sakuno finished with a new blush.

Hari smiled amusedly as she saw Tomoka stare at Sakuno blankly for a long moment as she processed the news.

"WHAT?!" She yelled her eyes wide and hand wigwagging around her wildly. "YOU'RE GOING ON A DATE WITH RYOMA-SAMA?!"

Hari winced at the loud voice and rubbed her ears as she shot the overly excited girl an annoyed look, but there was amusement as well in her expression.

"Shush," Sakuno blushed and looked around fretfully. "It's not a date."

"Oh, I'm so jealous!" Tomoka moaned. "A date with Ryoma-sama! I want to come too!"

"Then it wouldn't be a date," Hari pointed out with an amused smile.

"Hari-chan!" Sakuno blushed, "It's not a date!"

"Good point," Tomoka nodded and gave Sakuno a look. "Well, you have to find the perfect outfit, Sakuno!"

"Just avoid pink," Hari advised her, "Ryo-chan doesn't like it."

Sakuno was now so red that Hari wondered if she could get any redder.

"It's not a date," Sakuno repeated hiding her face behind her hands.

Hari chuckled but didn't say anything else. She knew when to stop and right now she could tell that Sakuno had enough of their teasing.

"It's fine, Sakuno-chan," Hari smiled. "Let's practice now. I won't tease you anymore."

Sakuno looked at her sceptically and Hari held up her hand in what she had seen on the television to mean scouts-honour and Sakuno nodded.

...

The next day Hari spent the morning working on her magic lessons, she had to send two essays to her private instructor that had been set up for her. She was very pleased with the home-schooling system they had set up for her for her magic lessons, just enough so that she could train her magic and still function in the magic world. Even if she was more inclined to stay in the muggle world.

She had finished her essays and looked at the clock, it was almost time for Ryoma to go and meet Sakuno. Hari smiled slightly to herself before it fell as her eyes landed on the piece of paper she had stuck on the table lamp.

Atobe Keigo – 222-XX-XXX

Her mind went back to that day at the beginning of the week and she wondered what to do. She had gotten over the shock now (well, mostly) and the curiosity had her wanting to reach out because of the chance of getting to know more about her mum…

Should she talk to him?

She bit down on her lower lip considering…

She could avoid him and pretend that he wasn't a connection to her past. That she hadn't just been faced with something that was such a reminder of what she was trying to leave behind. It wouldn't be impossible to do that, but…

But she felt like a coward and she wasn't a coward. She was a Gryffindor and even if she didn't really liked the British Wizarding World right now and didn't trust the professors and headmaster at Hogwarts didn't mean that she hated the school itself. Hogwarts had been her first home, the first place she had felt welcomed (not counting Ryoma and his parents). And she kind of missed the warmth she had felt from the school when her life hadn't been in danger.

So, alright, she had been in danger most of the time but there were still some good times and she did miss Ron and Hermione. Though, that wasn't what she was going to think about now. The point was, she was a Gryffindor and that meant that she was brave and wouldn't hide just because she felt…well, scared.

She hated to admit it, but it was true. She felt scared of what the connection to Atobe would mean. Did he have a connection to the British Magical World? Did meeting him mean she would be exposed to them again? What if his parents said something to someone and let it out that she was here? Maybe they didn't think she should be hiding away here and continue at Hogwarts? Take up her parents' inheritance?

Hari knew very well that these worries were (probably) just her mind overthinking the situation and the unknown. Hermione would say she was brooding. Atobe was clearly living in Japan and hadn't said anything about being magical at all, in fact…she wasn't sure he even knew about magic. She had a suspicion that he might know, there had been something in the way he had talked and the way he looked at her, but she couldn't be sure.

And…his mother (Hari still didn't know her name) had been best friends with Lily since they were young kids. From before they Lily started Hogwarts, so that meant that Atobe's mother most likely was a muggle. She hadn't attended Hogwarts.

Sighing Hari shook her head trying to clear it. This was getting ridiculous, she thought. She grabbed her phone before she could talk herself out of it again.

Hey. Can we meet and talk today? I will wait at the burger place close by my school in one hour. Hari.

She pressed send and let a small sigh leave her as she wondered if she had made the right choice.

...

Hari walked downstairs and saw Ryoma getting ready just as Nanjiro entered the hallway muttering something about being hungry, but he paused when he saw Ryoma tying his shoes.

"So, kiddo, where are you going?" he asked. "A deto?"

"The racket stringer's place," Ryoma didn't turn around as he answered.

"Oh, it's a date," Hari grinned as she made herself known to them. "He's going with this cute young girl who keeps blushing around him."

Nanjiro grinned happily with a teasing look in his brown eyes as he looked at Ryoma who scowled up at Hari.

"Oh, oh," Nanjiro drawled. "What a weird place to take your date, Ryoma… you should know better than that…"

"I'm just taking Ryuzaki-sensei's granddaughter there," Ryoma scoffed looking away from Hari. "It's no big deal and it's not a date."

"That's a poor excuse, Ryo-chan," Hari smiled, "you're going there alone with Sakuno-chan, and you even have gotten on your best jacket."

Ryoma huffed.

"Have you already gotten to that age, huh?" Nanjiro cackled gleefully. "I'm so happy as your father too!"

Hari smiled amusedly as she watched the father and son bicker back and forth a little until Ryoma left with an annoyed huff.

Nanjiro was still laughing as he watched the door close.

"Do you have plans today, Hari-chan?" he asked turning toward her when he calmed a little.

Hari shrugged not wanting to tell the man that she had plans on meeting a boy (even if it was Atobe and only to find out more about her mum). She knew that he wouldn't find it as amusing as he did with Ryoma for some stupid reason. She had seen how he had reacted to her being on the boys' team and she wasn't willing to have him going into overprotective mode right now.

"I might go out to practice tennis a little," she said with a shrug. "It's not as exciting as Ryo-chan's date…"

"Hm, alright," he nodded before grinning again. "I wonder if that boy even knows how to date."

"Probably not," Hari snorted, "he'll probably walk in silence and let Sakuno fret on what to say…" (å

Nanjiro frowned and Hari almost lets a sigh of relief out at how easy it was to distract him. He suddenly smiled.

"That's right," he said. "This is something I have to see!"

He bounced out of the door leaving Hari to herself and she shook her head amused.

"That was a clever distracting method," Nanako spoke up softly from the kitchen door.

Hari spun around to see the older girl standing there watching her curiously. Hari hadn't noticed her being there and was now wondering what to do.

"Oh," she settled with.

"Don't worry," Nanako smiled at her. "I won't tell uncle that you distracted him on purpose. He can be a little overprotective of you."

Hari smiled gratefully at the older girl.

"Thank you," she said.

"Where are you going?" Nanako asked.

"I just have to talk to someone," Hari said.

"A boy?" Nanako was smiling now.

Hari grimaced slightly but she nodded.

"Yeah," she nodded.

"Alright," Nanako said. "Just be careful, Hari-chan."

...

Hari sat at a table in the corner at the burger place when Atobe entered the diner alone. He walked with a swagger and looked around. Hari could tell when he spotted her and saw only a second of his emotions cross his face before the confident mask was back again as he headed over to her and sat down.

"I was surprised by your text," he said as a way of greeting.

Hari nodded.

"So…" Atobe looked at her when she didn't say anything. "Have you had time to think?"

"I guess," she said feeling uncomfortable. "It's a lot to take in."

He nodded slowly.

"I guess I can understand that," he said. "Do you believe me now?"

"I think so," Hari said a little unsurely.

Atobe frowned, "if you don't believe me why did you ask me to meet you? Why is it so difficult to believe?"

Hari frowned back at him.

"It's not the first time I've been tricked into believing something," Hari snapped at him. "I don't want to end up in a bad situation again just because I want to know more about my parents! I can't…"

He looked worriedly at her now.

"I wouldn't lie to you," he told her so sincerely that she had to blink. "Look. Here, I found this and thought you might be interested in seeing it."

He pulled out what looked like a small stack of papers, but Hari soon realised that it was photos.

She took them and was met with the (unmoving) picture of two girls looking to be around nine years old. She immediately recognised her mum, Lily, with the same auburn hair as herself and green eyes. While the other girl had brown hair and onyx eyes that was shining in laughter.

Hari swallowed. It was the girl or woman from her photo from her parents' wedding. If anything would convince her that it was true, this would do it.

She looked at the other pictures in the small stack and saw Lily with Atobe's mother in various situations until they looked to be adults.

"You're telling the truth," she whispered.

"The great Atobe never lies," Atobe declared proudly making Hari snort as some of the tension left her as she gave him a looked that crossed between amused and incredulous.

"You sound like a prat I knew speaking like that," Hari told him making him frown at her but he smiled slightly as he picked up on her mood change.

...

They talked and Atobe got them some food as they did, he tried to get them to go to a nicer place but Hari waved it off and happily ate her burger and fries. Atobe sighed but accepted it as he observed her quietly.

Mainly it was Atobe who told her about his family, how his mother (who was named Atobe Yukiko) and his father (Atobe Jurou) met and married, how Lily had threatened his father to treat her best friend right or else. Hari couldn't help but be pulled into the stories and wanting to hear more.

"Mother will be able to tell you more," Atobe said when they had finished eating and had talked for a while.

"Oh, right," Hari said suddenly nervous again.

"Why? You don't want to meet her?" Atobe asked.

Hari took a moment to gather her thoughts as she looked up at Atobe who was watching her closely.

"It's not that. I just…" she sighed as she thought; What if she doesn't like me?

She didn't say this out loud, not wanting to sound weak or worried. Not anymore.

...

Nanjiro stood beside four kids from Ryoma's tennis club he didn't remember the name of, but they were fun and amusing. They had been trying to stop him from following Ryoma and his date all day much to his delight.

And now they were staring at Ryoma and Sakuno with a stunned realisation that this wasn't a date and that Ryoma had only gone with her in place of her grandmother.

"So boring," Nanjiro huffed at the same time as Momoshiro.

Nanjiro huffed again and turned around, "well, I'm going home."

He walked two steps before he suddenly froze making the others look at him.

"Ossan!" Momoshiro called out.

Nanjiro ignored him. Ryoma wasn't on a date. He had followed him all afternoon because he thought he was going on a date and it wasn't a date.

Hari knew.

Hari had known it wasn't a date, but she had let him believe it was. She pushed him to think that.

Why? Why would she do that? Nanjiro thought.

"She played me!" Nanjiro suddenly yelled startling the others enough for them to take a couple of steps back. "Oh, that girl! She played me! She knew it wasn't a date! She knew Ryoma wasn't going on a date… why would she….she wasn't going out to play tennis… oh, that girl. I have to find her!"

He stormed off and left some very confused teens behind who had no idea what just happened or even who that man even was.

 **...**

 **...**

 **AN:** **Thoughts? Hope you liked it! :)**

 **The hometown for Lily is a fictional town that JK Rowling made up for her Harry Potter universe that I found on Pottermore. So I took the hometown for Lily and Atobe Yukiko from there. And of course Atobe Yukiko's backstory is completely made up by me, I don't know anything about her from the PoT canon. Don't think she's mentioned, so I'm taking some liberties. :)**

 **Next chapter will have bonding between Hari and the Seigaku regulars! :) And a certain someone will make an appearance in some shape or form! XD**

 **Thank you for reading and supporting the story! :)**

 **Japanese words used:**

 **Tanomu - Please**  
 **Nan da to - What did you say?**  
 **Doshita - What's up?**  
 **Okashii-naa - That's strange**  
 **Arigato gozaimasu - Thank you**  
 **Hai - Yes**  
 **Deto - Date**  
 **Ossan - Old man**


	16. Meet the Atobe family

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Prince of Tennis!**

 **...**

 **Also,** **you will notice a change in how I address Atobe in this chapter. That's because of the appearance of his parents and it got too confusing with so many Atobe's I decided just to use their first names. So from now on, I will address Atobe as Keigo, his mother as Yukiko and his dad as Jurou. Just to let you know. :)**

 **...**

 **...**

Hari was in her room reading or rather trying to read but her brain was still thinking about her meeting with Atobe and everything they had talked about. She was still reeling over the fact that Atobe was her mum's godson. What did that mean for her? Did it have to mean anything?

And…he said that his parents would want to meet her. He hadn't told them about her yet, but he said he couldn't hide it from them when he knew just how much they would want to see her and know that she was alright. He had told her that they thought she was dead because they couldn't find her, which was rather strange. Atobe Yukiko must have known that Lily had a sister, so wouldn't it be natural to check with Petunia?

Hari frowned as she thought about that. Something wasn't right here and she couldn't help but think that her aunt may have lied and told Yukiko that Hari wasn't there… but why would she do that? Petunia never hid the fact that she resented having Hari in her home. She told her constantly in fact that Hari was a burden and unwanted.

She was still brooding over this when the door to her room was opened and Nanjiro stood there panting and looking like he had run a marathon or something as he stared at her.

"D-Nanjiro?" Hari caught herself in time and called his name and not 'dad' like she started to say.

"Hari-chan!" he gasped.

"Eh? What is it?" Hari blinked at him.

"You…you…!" he struggled to say and leaned against the doorway just as Ryoma and Rinko came up behind him. Both having heard him running up the stairs and was obviously curious about what was happening.

Hari looked at Ryoma who just shrugged telling her that he had no idea what was up now. Rinko was watching her husband with a look that crossed between worried and amused.

"You tricked me!" Nanjiro exclaimed.

Ah. Hari knew now what he was on about and she made sure not to let a smile cross her lips as his eyes stared accusingly at her and he waved a hand around wildly.

"I did?" Hari asked innocently. "When?"

He narrowed his eyes at her.

"Now! Today!" he said. "You knew Ryoma wasn't on a date!"

Ryoma looked at Hari now with a raised brow while Rinko had lost the worried look and was no just looking amused.

"He wasn't?" Hari fought to keep the smile out of her voice and face. "Strange."

"How is that strange?" Ryoma asked.

"Sakuno-chan is such a cute girl," Hari told him. "You should be out on a date with her, Ryo-chan."

He gaped at her.

"I…you…" he stuttered. "No way!"

"Why?" Hari tilted her head. "Don't you think she's cute, Ryo-chan?"

He sputtered and blushed slightly but soon caught himself and glared at her while his parents looked at them curiously, Nanjiro even getting distracted. Though, it didn't last long.

"Hey!" he exclaimed. "You can't distract me! You tricked me!"

"I wouldn't dream of it," Hari deadpanned.

"Hari-chan," Nanjiro whined and Hari rolled her eyes. "Where have you been?"

"Here and there," Hari shrugged.

"Did you meet someone?" Nanjiro narrowed his eyes at her.

Hari sighed and shook her head.

"I'm trying to read," Hari said waving her book, "was it anything else?"

Nanjiro blinked at the subject change and Hari turned away from him and looked back at her book. She hoped he wouldn't ask anything else. She wasn't sure she wanted to tell them about Atobe just yet.

...

 _A cruel laughter echoed in her head._

 _A scream._

 _A flash of green._

 _Then – silence…_

Hari jerked up in the bed breathing hard, her hair clinging to her head drenched in sweat. She could feel her chest rising and sinking at a rapid speed as she fought to get control over her breathing as she looked around the room with wide eyes.

She reached for her glasses and put them on at the same time as she turned on the light next to her bed and her room was partially lit up letting her see clearly.

She leaned forward and pulled her legs closer to her as she rested her forehead on her knees. The nightmare was not something new. In fact, it was an old one. One she used to have regularly before she started Hogwarts.

Back then she had not known what it meant. She had thought it had something to do with the so-called car accident that had killed her parents even if she didn't understand where the laughter or the green light had come from.

Now, though, she knew the truth. It was that night. The night Voldemort killed her parents. The night he killed her mum. It was her mum she could remember screaming, it was he who laughed.

She had thought so much about her mum that it had brought her old nightmare back. Hari rubbed her eyes to dry the rebellious tear that had escaped despite her effort to keep it in. When was she going to get over this? She thought angrily.

She listened. The house was silent. She had not woken anyone up with her nightmare, that was good. She didn't wish to burden the others with it. It wasn't their problem.

Getting out of bed she stumbled over to the window and pushed it open and looked out at the night sky. She could barely see the stars but the fresh air against her skin helped calm her down.

Then something white came closer and she soon recognised Hedwig and smiled slightly as she held out her arm and watched as her owl landed perfectly and somehow jumped up further on her arm to her shoulder and affectionately nibbled at her ear.

"I'm glad I have you, Hedwig," Hari mumbled.

Hedwig hooted comfortingly.

...

"You look tired, Hari-chan," Rinko frowned worriedly at her the next morning. "Are you feeling alright?"

"I'm fine," Hari smiled even though she had a headache. "Just didn't sleep that well."

Rinko was looking at her with concern and Hari felt both warm and guilty seeing it. She liked that Rinko cared, but she felt guilty that she was burdening the older woman with something so trivial.

"Do you feel well enough to go to school?" Rinko asked.

"Of course," Hari said quickly.

Rinko nodded but still looked a little worried. Nanjiro looked up from his paper (magazine) and also looked at Hari worriedly.

"Maybe you should stay home," he said. "I'll call the old lady…"

Hari shook her head trying to ignore how much it hurt.

"No, I'm fine," she said again. "You don't have to worry."

She looked down at her food and took a couple of more bites before pushing it away and got up from the table. She missed the worried looks Rinko and Nanjiro gave her.

Hari thanked them for the food before going back to her room to get ready for school. Just as she got back downstairs and found Ryoma waiting for her. She gave him a look because normally she would be the one waiting for him. Had she been that slow this morning?

"Ready?" he asked.

"Yeah."

...

Hari laughed watching Momoshiro being chased around the tennis court by a very irate Kaido who was wet. She did feel a little bad about that because…

"You're not going to save Momo-sempai?" Ryoma asked looked at her.

Hari glanced at him with an arched brow.

"You know since it's your fault that Kaido-sempai is wet and all?" Ryoma gave her a look.

"I don't want Ka-chan to kill me," Hari shrugged, "besides…this prank was way better."

She had made a water balloon and positioned it over the door to the boys' locker room expecting Momoshiro walking out and therefore being hit by the water balloon. She had not expected the balloon to hold on for a moment longer and not fall down on Momoshiro but on Kaido who had come out a moment later.

Of course it wasn't Hari's intention to let Kaido think Momoshiro had thrown the balloon at him…it just happened and before she could say anything (she was caught trying to stop herself from laughing out loud) Kaido had screamed at Momoshiro and started to chase the laughing boy who then looked confused at being blamed before quickly moving on to scared and running for his life.

Ryoma shook his head and seemed kind of relieved if Hari read him correctly. She wasn't stupid, she knew he had noticed her being distracted and clearly not her normal self since this morning with her headache and all, so she knew he was just happy to see her do something again. Oh, and probably hearing her laugh.

Hari smiled softly at that. She knew Ryoma cared for her and was worried, she hated that he worried but at the same time felt the familiar warmth knowing that he did. She couldn't explain it very well.

"Oh," Kikumaru laughed as he joined them and watched Kaido who had now caught Momoshiro and was wrestling him down on the ground. "Kaido and Momo-chan are having fun, nya."

Oishi sighed as he walked past them to try to break up the fight. Hari watched as he was unsuccessfully trying to get Kaido off Momoshiro.

"Here, Taka-san," Kikumaru said and Hari turned in time to see Kikumaru hand Kawamura a tennis racket.

"BURN, BABY!" Kawamura suddenly yelled loudly making Hari blink started. "OI! YOU TWO HOTHEADS BREAK IT UP! BREAK IT UP! BURN!"

Hari laughed again as she saw Kawamura march over to Kaido and Momoshiro (and ignoring Oishi who was struggling to break the two up) just grabbed the two by their collar and pulled them apart.

Of course, he dropped the racket doing so and soon calmed down and let go of the two shocked second years who blinked at him.

"Oh, gomen," he said softly. "But you shouldn't fight."

"Sugoi," Hari laughed at the sudden change in Kawamura.

Being there with Ryoma and the boys who were becoming her friends faster than Hari had thought possible helped her realise that right now she was where she was supposed to be. Atobe had shaken her with the information and the connection to her past, but now watching her chatting friends start to get ready for their tennis practice she realised that it didn't change anything for her. Sure she would go and see Atobe again and meet his parents just because she knew he wouldn't let her alone and she was curious about them. But it didn't have to mean that she would lose this. She would still have Ryoma and her new friends.

It was a comforting thought and she smiled softly not realising that Fuji was watching her from the side or that Ryoma gave a relieved sigh at the smile. She just walked over and grabbed her racket before jogging over to Nagayama to get ready for practice herself.

...

Keigo put the phone down and stared out at the large garden that stretched for as far as he could see from the window of the office he had claimed as his. There were more rooms in this house (mansion really) to know what to do with them all so he had a few rooms that were his. Sometimes, like right now it felt too big and he felt alone despite all the servants in the place.

He looked at the phone and thought that it shouldn't be necessary to have to tell his parents about Hari over the phone, but since they so frequently were away on business trips he didn't really see another way to tell them. Not if they didn't want to wait until whatever time they decided to come back.

It hadn't been an easy call to make and Keigo knew his mother had been pained and hopeful at the same time, she had been scared to get her hopes up again.

" _Honto? Is it…is it really her, Keigo? Lily's girl?"_

His mother's tight voice still rang in his mind so full of hope and at the same time showed the pain of all those times she had been disappointed. He had assured her the best he could and she had told him that she and his father would be back later that same day.

They wanted to meet Hari.

Now he just had to tell Hari. He picked up the phone again and found her contact information on the phone before pressing the call button and waited for the slightly younger girl to pick up the phone.

...

"Are you really going to go and meet them?" Ryoma asked her.

Hari was pacing the floor in her bedroom and glanced over at where Ryoma was seated on the bed. His arms were crossed over his chest and his eyes were following her as she paced. He had a stubborn yet sulky expression on his face.

"I think so," Hari said.

"I don't see why you should go and meet them," Ryoma huffed. "Just because they demand it."

"They didn't demand it, Ryo-chan," Hari said.

"That's not what I heard," he said stubbornly. "That Atobe-guy just told you they wanted to meet you tomorrow. He didn't even ask you if you wanted to."

Hari sighed. She knew she wouldn't get him to change his mind or think any differently.

"And you have been stressed out by this entire thing ever since that Atobe-guy talked to you," Ryoma continued, "just because he is your mum's godson doesn't mean he should just come and start to dictate your life! Talk to me this, do that…"

Ryoma ranted and Hari glanced at him again and saw he was scowling now.

"Ryo-chan, calm down," she told him and sat down on the bed beside him.

Ryoma scoffed and looked away from her. She couldn't help but think he looked cute like that, all sulky and pouting. She nudged his shoulder.

"Hey," she said but he ignored her.

Hari sighed.

"Hey," she said again and this time he glanced at her. "What's really the problem, Ryo-chan?"

He stared at her for a moment longer before he looked away again.

"Who says there's a problem," he said petulantly. "I thought you were going to take some time before you decided to see them."

Hari nodded.

"I was," she said, "but I needed to know."

He sighed and glanced at her again.

"Just…" he paused and looked at her, "kiwotsukete."

"I will be careful, Ryo-chan," Hari promised him.

...

"You mean to tell me you had him dye his hair blue and white?" An asked incredulously yet amused.

Hari grinned and nodded, "hai."

"Did you take pictures?" An asked eagerly.

"Jiro-kun sent me one," Hari nodded and pulled it up on her phone to show An and Sakuno who both laughed.

Hari had made plans to meet An on Saturday in an effort to distract her thoughts from her meeting with the Atobe family later that day. She had met Sakuno on her way to An's house and invited the younger girl to join them much to the girl's surprise. And that was how they now found themselves chatting in An's room where Hari told them about the bet she had made with Kisarazu Ryo and won.

"I can't believe you actually made him do it," Sakuno giggled.

"Or that his friends let you," An added with a giggle.

Hari just shrugged.

"It's not like it was a permanent dye," she said, "it should wash out in a few washes. Unfortunately."

An and Sakuno both laughed harder when they saw the disappointed look on Hari's face. Hari smiled a little at them and leaned back against the bed she was sitting up against on the floor.

"I wish I could have seen it," An said with a longing sigh.

"Me too," Sakuno nodded.

Hari smiled again and fiddled with the phone as she thought about that day. It had been a fun day and she had talked to Saeki on the phone a couple of time since then to discuss her training. She wondered why she felt the butterflies in her stomach just thinking about him.

"What are you thinking about?" An asked grinning.

Hari blinked and found the other two girls watching her curiously.

"Eh?" Hari asked.

"You're blushing," An arched a brow at her.

"I am?" Hari raised a hand to her cheeks in wonder. She hadn't been aware of it, but she couldn't understand why she would be blushing. "Huh."

Sakuno and An exchanged looks.

"So, tell me, Hari-chan," An started. "What or rather who were you thinking about to blush like that?"

"No one," Hari denied.

"Right," An rolled her eyes and turned so she was lying on her stomach and gave Hari a look. "We all know that' a lie, don't we Sakuno-chan?"

Sakuno blushed and nodded, "y-yeah!"

Hari frowned at them.

"I don't know what you know," Hari told them. "I was just thinking about the last time I talked to Jiro-kun."

For some reason An smiled even wider and let out a small triumphant sound while Sakuno just smiled shyly at her. It was confusing.

"What?" Hari asked. "Why are you looking like that?"

An gave her a disbelieving look, "you like him."

Hari looked at her blankly.

"I like who?" she asked.

"Seriously?" An asked.

"What?"

"She's really that blind," An muttered in disbelief.

She sat up and looked at Hari with a more serious look in her eyes and Hari wondered what she was on about.

"You like this 'Jiro-kun'," An said seriously. "Like in like-like."

Hari blinked and then frowned. She didn't like him like that, did she? It wasn't like Ron who was bickering with Hermione at every turn and got jealous every time she talked to another boy. She didn't get jealous when Saeki talked to someone who wasn't her… did she? She didn't bicker with him, that was for sure.

"I…" Hari couldn't find the words. "How do you know…"

An and Sakuno exchanged looks again and Hari felt stupid and lost.

"Do you think about him often?" An asked, "want to talk to him? See him?"

Hari frowned but she nodded, "I guess so."

"Do you feel butterflies in your stomach when you think of or talk to him? Want to see him smile and laugh at your jokes?" An continued.

Hari thought for a moment before she nodded slowly.

"That's signs for liking someone," An told her.

"Oh," Hari frowned. "I…didn't know."

An shook her head but smiled now and giggled a little. Sakuno giggled as well as Hari blinked again and felt like she should have realised before that she might like Saeki. She did find him handsome and he was very kind and helpful.

"Do you have a picture of him?" An asked.

"No," Hari shook her head. "I don't."

"Too bad," An sighed but smiled. "Well, tell us more, Hari-chan. Are you going to tell him?"

Hari looked horrified at her.

"No!" Hari said. "He doesn't like me like that."

"How do you know?" Sakuno asked gently.

"He just doesn't," Hari shook her head, "he told his friends that we were just friends and that it wasn't a date."

"Well, he could have just said that because he was worried about what you would think," Sakuno pointed out.

"That's right," An nodded, "you were there for a lesson and he hadn't asked you for a date…that's why he would deny that it was a date. It doesn't mean that he didn't want it to be."

Hari shook her head.

"No," she denied. "He sees me as his friend, or just someone he is teaching tennis."

They looked a little disappointed but after a few more tries to get Hari to confess to the older boy they eventually gave up and Hari let out a relieved sigh that they did. She kind of wished she hadn't gotten a clue on her crush toward Saeki because now everything seemed different and scarier and way more complicated.

Just why did this whole boy-thing be so complicated? She sighed.

...

Eventually it was time for Hari to leave to go and meet Atobe and his parents. She waved at Sakuno and An as she made her way to the bus stop and was feeling almost relieved to be allowed to escape and get a chance to gather her thoughts.

One good thing had come from this at least. She had stopped worrying about meeting Atobe and his parents. The bad thing was that now she was worried about what Saeki was thinking about her and if she had made a fool out of herself without even knowing it.

An had seen so quickly that she liked him, but Hari hadn't had a clue. Had Saeki seen the same? Did he know and secretly make fun of her because of it? No, she quickly dismissed that thought. He wasn't that kind of person. If he knew he would overlook it and treat her like he always had. She was sure about that.

"Argh," she suddenly said out loud. "Why are boys so complicated?"

"Are we?" a soft voice asked beside her and she blinked and turned to see a boy seated to her left only two free seats between them watching her.

She frowned at him and felt embarrassed realising that she had said that out loud and that he had heard her.

"Obviously," Hari said with a surprisingly calm voice.

He smiled.

"Well, I would argue that girls are more complicated than boys," he said.

Hari huffed.

"That's just stupid," she said.

He arched a brow.

"Why are boys more complicated, then?" he challenged her.

"Because they don't just say what they think and makes girl's guess about their motivation and thoughts," Hari told him.

He hummed and looked like he was thinking about what she said.

"That could be said about girls too, you know," he pointed out.

"Well, maybe," Hari said annoyed at being corrected. "It doesn't change the fact that boys are complicated."

He laughed and Hari noticed that he had a nice laugh, soft and calming. Actually, she only now took in how he looked. He had wavy navy blue hair that reached his chin and his complexion was fair and would make any girl envious, but what she noticed the most was his eyes. She had never seen such violet eyes before and they were watching her amused.

"Perhaps," he gave. "I take it that you are uncomplicated, then?"

"Of course," she smirked at him and she saw him blink before his smile widened. "I'm the most uncomplicated girl in the world."

"Somehow I don't believe that," he said.

"Why?" Hari asked.

He just smiled and she rolled her eyes before she noticed the sign on the bus stop they just passed and cursed slightly.

"Argh," she muttered. "Shoot."

She reached out and pushed the stop button as she got up to her feet.

"Ah, you're getting off?" the boy asked.

"Yeah," Hari said.

"Well, hope to see you again, miss uncomplicated girl," the boy smiled.

Hari just waved as she made her way forward in the bus to the door and as soon as the bus stopped she got off.

...

"Ah, gomen," Hari gasped as she ran up to Keigo who she had spotted just outside what looked like an expensive restaurant. "Got off on the wrong stop."

He smiled kind of relieved and nodded.

"I thought you had changed your mind," he said.

Hari shook her head.

"Sorry," Hari said again. She did feel nervous and it was kind of becoming clear for her now that she was there. She had managed to avoid thinking about it most of the day, but now… well, it was hitting her fast and hard.

Would they like her? Would they tell someone where she was? Did she really feel ready?

"Come on," Keigo said and held the door open for her.

"Arigatou," she said and inhaled deeply before entering the restaurant.

It was clearly a fancy place with expensive looking furniture and elegantly decorated tables. The waiters were all looking impeccable and proper.

"Welcome," a young woman with her light hair pulled back in a tight bun smile in welcome. "Please follow me."

Hari glanced at Keigo who followed her without a word and Hari followed him feeling more and more nervous as she walked.

They arrived at what turned out to be private rooms far too quickly in Hari's opinion and the host was opening the doors and Keigo turned to look at her because she had stopped.

She couldn't do this. Not alone. She needed Ryoma…she couldn't…

"Hari-chan," Keigo stepped closer to her and his voice was calm and sure, "it's alright. My parents just want to see you and get to know you. It's nothing dangerous, alright?"

Hari blinked at him before she inhaled deeply again and nodded.

...

Hari stepped inside the room slightly behind Keigo and barely noticed the table that was set or the chairs or the decoration around the room as her eyes found the two adults standing there, anxiously looking right back at her.

Hari swallowed as she looked at them. The male was a taller version of his son with the same purple-dark hair and build, but the eyes and tear-mole Atobe clearly had from his mother.

His mother who was staring at her with one hand to her chest and the other over her mouth and with teary eyes. Hari could tell that this woman, though older, was the same woman she had seen at the photo with her mum.

"Harriett?" Atobe Yukiko whispered like she had to be sure.

Hari almost startled at the sound of her full name. No one called her Harriett. She nodded as she watched the woman give a quiet gasp and suddenly moved and Hari hadn't time to even process that the older woman was moving toward her before she found herself in a hug.

Hari felt stiff and tense as the woman hugged her, but she awkwardly put her arms around her waist and patted her back slightly. She could feel the soft cries of Atobe Yukiko and she felt slightly overwhelmed by the reaction of the older woman.

Soon she felt a strong hand on her shoulder and glanced to the side to see that Atobe Jurou had joined them and placed a hand on each of their shoulders in support. He wasn't crying like his wife, but his eyes did seem a little glassy.

Hari almost let out a relieved breath (and felt immediately bad about it) when Yukiko pulled away, she didn't let go of Hari entirely but it was better than being hugged. Hari was not sure what to say or where to look under the searching look from Yukiko.

Keigo stepped forward then and Hari had almost forgotten that he was there. She saw him smiling slightly as he watched them.

"Why don't we sit down?" he asked.

Hari shot him a grateful look as she now was free from Yukiko's arms and could take a step back. She fiddled with her fingers trying to calm down and not turn around and run out of the room like she wanted to.

"Of course," Jurou nodded.

...

As they sat there it was clear to Hari where Keigo had gotten his confident and almost intimidating aura from, both his parents radiated with the same thing and all they were doing was sitting down and watching her in silence. Hari wished for someone to speak because she was too unsure to do so herself right now.

"Harriett," Yukiko started.

"Hari," Hari interrupted and looked at her, "everyone calls me Hari."

Yukiko paused and then smiled at her.

"Hari-chan," she said as if trying the name out.

Hari nodded and smiled slightly but it felt odd. She glanced at Keigo who was surprisingly silent and seemed content to sit there just observing things.

"You look like a perfect mixture of your parents, Hari-chan," Yukiko said.

Hari swallowed again feeling the familiar sadness and warmth when someone talked about her parents.

"So much like Lily," Yukiko whispered and her eyes seemed to hungrily watch Hari.

"Well, her face is more like James," Jurou commented, "Lily's colours for eyes and hair, but James' shape."

Hari wasn't sure what to say to that.

"I'm sorry, Hari-chan," Jurou apologized. "We seem to have gotten off track here. We haven't even properly introduced ourselves."

"Oh my," Yukiko gasped like she had just realised this. "I'm Atobe Yukiko."

"And I'm Atobe Jurou," her husband smiled.

"Nice-nice to meet you," Hari managed to say.

"And you," Yukiko said. "I can't believe that you're finally here…"

"We have looked for you for so long," Jurou added. "I think our son mentioned that to you."

Hari nodded shyly.

"Let's order some food," Keigo interrupted and they nodded and Hari was glad for the interruption as it gave her time to think and just gather herself again.

...

The food arrived and Hari listened to Yukiko who had started to tell her stories about Lily and Hari was hanging on to every word. She had never heard so much about her mum before, it was strange and exciting to finally get a clearer image of who Lily had been when she was a child and young adult.

They talked and Hari mostly listened throughout the meal.

"Hari-chan," Yukiko started when they had finished eating both the meal and the dessert.

Hari could tell that this was serious and judging by the looks between Yukiko and Jurou it was something they had prolonged to bring up. She tensed slightly.

"Keigo told us that you had been adopted," Jurou said seriously.

Hari nodded.

"It was recent?" He followed up with.

"Yeah," Hari nodded. "It was."

"We…" Yukiko stopped and inhaled before started again. "Where were you before?"

Hari didn't answer right away and fisted her hands against her thighs as she considered what to tell them.

"My aunt Petunia," Hari finally said.

"Petunia?" Yukiko repeated shocked. "But…"

"She didn't tell you I was with her, did she?" Hari asked already knowing their answer.

"No, she…" Yukiko frowned. "Why…"

Hari shrugged, "I don't know. I was put on their doorstep after mum and dad were…was killed."

Jurou was watching her with a pensive look and she could tell he was thinking about what she had said. She now knew that he was a lawyer, a very powerful and high in the rank of lawyer that also owned several companies that was spread all around the world.

It was honestly a little daunting to sit in front of him like this when she realised just how powerful these people were. Yukiko as well, she had a leading position at their company and also a lawyer.

"That is strange," he said.

Hari just shrugged again. She didn't really know very much about it just that it was Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall that had left her there after Hagrid brought her to them.

"Is it because of the magic aspect?" Jurou asked.

Hari wasn't sure she should be shocked or not by the fact that they knew, but she did blink and looked between them.

"It might be," Hari said slowly. "You know…"

"Yes, we know about the magic," Yukiko said. "Lily told me when we were 13 and she had a slip of accidental magic when Petunia pushed her too far. I saw the magic and promised not to tell anyone and she never told anyone that I knew."

"Then when we were 18 and she got back from Hogwarts she introduced me to James (she had already met Jurou), they told him about the magic as well," Yukiko said, "the war was picking up and they thought it was safer for us to know and understand why they had to take certain precautions. James even handled the legal aspects of being an Auror (I think that was what he called it) and had legal forms for us to be allowed to know."

Hari stared at them shocked.

"Dad…dad was an Auror?" she asked surprised.

"Yes," Jurou nodded. "Along with that friend of his, Sirius Black. Of course, he was then…"

"Sirius was too?" Hari asked before she could stop herself.

Jurou gave her a look and Hari realised that she had asked about someone they believed was a killer even in the muggle world. She cursed herself quietly at her slip.

"Yes, he was," Jurou confirmed a little suspiciously as he looked at her. "That was before he was convicted of killing 13 people."

Hari gritted her teeth to stop herself from arguing that he was innocent. She had seen how well that went last time. She could not risk revealing that she had been in contact with Sirius.

"Oh," Hari said, "there wasn't anything written about that…"

She knew it was a poor excuse to use, to pretend that she had just read about him in the papers but at the same time they had no reason to think that she hadn't. She saw the suspicion fall away from Jurou's eyes and he nodded.

"I see," he said, "well, anyway, we know about magic."

Hari leaned back in her seat. That might change some things… she swallowed again.

"Ehm, are you in touch with anyone from the magical world?" Hari asked quietly. "Especially from the British Magical world?"

"No," Yukiko said and exchanged a look with her husband. "Why?"

Hari felt relieved and hoped that she could trust that they told the truth. Right now she had no reason to believe they were lying.

"Hari-chan?" Jurou asked. "Why did you ask that?"

"Does anyone know that you are here?" Yukiko asked.

Hari grimaced.

"I take that as a no," Jurou said.

Hari sighed.

"I kind of ran away?" Hari said, "well, aunt Petunia gave me permission to go and they signed away their custody of me to Rinko and Nanjiro, so it's perfectly legal that I'm here. I just…didn't tell anyone in the Magical World where I went when I resigned from Hogwarts."

"You resigned from Hogwarts?" Yukiko asked. "Why? Lily and James only had great things to say about that school."

Hari refused to say anything so she just looked away with a huff and made it clear that she wasn't talking about that. She had no interest in going into details about what had happened there with someone she had just met even if they knew her parents.

She had already said too much. She frowned as she realised that and glanced at the clock.

"Bugger," she said as her eyes went wide. "I'm late."

The Atobe's all looked at the time and seemed as surprised as her that it had gotten that late.

"I have to go," Hari said. "I should be home really soon and…"

"It's alright," Yukiko said getting up as Hari got to her feet. "We'll have a car drive you home."

"Oh, I…" Hari started.

"It's no problem, Hari-chan," Jurou said, "that way we know you get back safely."

"Alright," Hari agreed just because she knew she would be even later back if she had to take the bus.

"It was very nice to finally meet you, Hari-chan," Yukiko said and hugged her again this time quicker much to Hari's relief. "I hope we get to meet you again soon. Here."

She put a piece of paper in Hari's hands.

"It's our contact information," she said, "please, call us if you need anything, ok?"

Hari nodded.

"Ok," she agreed. "Thank you."

...

"Where have you been?" Rinko asked as soon as Hari stepped into the house.

Hari winced as it was clear that she had been worried and she saw Nanjiro hovering right behind his wife and looked at Hari with a concerned look as well.

"I'm sorry," Hari said, "I lost track of time."

"Where were you?" Rinko asked again and Hari bit down on her lip as Ryoma came down the stairs having heard her.

"I…" Hari started and looked at Ryoma. He shrugged. "I have something to tell you."

 **...**

 **...**

 **AN:** **What do you think?**

 **Anyone notice who showed up? XD Hehe.**

 **Thank you for reading and supporting the story! :) And thank you to guests and anyone who reviewed! I really appreciate it! It helps motivate me to keep writing :)**

 **Japanese words used:**  
 **Gomen - Sorry**  
 **Sugoi - Amazing**  
 **Honto - Really**  
 **Kiwotsukete - Be careful**  
 **Hai - Yes**  
 **Arigatou - Thank you**


	17. Belonging - part 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or the Prince of Tennis!**

 **...**

 **...**

 **"Parsletongue"**

 **...**

 **...**

They were silent after Hari had stopped talking and she resisted the need to shift in her seat or fidget with the hem of her shirt. She could tell they were trying to process what she had told them and she wondered if she had made a mistake telling them. What if they didn't want her anymore?

"They knew your parents?" Rinko asked looking a little stunned. Hari realised that she probably knew who the Atobe's were because of her own job as a lawyer.

"Yeah," Hari nodded, "Atobe Yukiko was mum's best friend."

"And you met them?"

"Yes."

"Today?"

"Yes."

Hari felt uncomfortable under the stares from Rinko, Nanjiro and Nanako while Ryoma sat slouched back with his arms crossed over his chest and glowered at the floor.

"Oh, sweetie, you should have told us and we would have helped you through it," Rinko suddenly exclaimed and pulled a stunned Hari into a hug.

Hari leaned into Rinko letting the older woman's warmth comfort her and in comparison to the hug she had received from Yukiko earlier that night this felt easier and more natural to Hari. She savoured the feeling she got in Rinko's arms and for the first time allowed herself to breathe more freely.

"Why didn't you come to us, Hari-chan?" Rinko eventually asked.

"I didn't want to bother you," Hari mumbled not looking up at them. She tried not to let her embarrassment show, but Rinko seemed to have seen it anyway as she reached out and popped Hari's chin up.

"Hari-chan," she said seriously. "We have adopted you. That means that we are your guardians and we want to know these things. We want to be here to help you."

Hari blinked and Rinko sighed.

"I know you're not used to it," Rinko said before muttering something that sounded very much like "idiotic Dursley's" before she continued, "but I want you to remember that when you have problems or need to talk then you can come to any of us, ok?"

Hari could only nod because her throat suddenly felt really thick and there seemed to be something in her eyes.

"What do they want from you?" Nanjiro suddenly asked. His tone was abrupt and harsher than Rinko's making Hari's head snap up to look at him. He was scowling and looked rather similar to Ryoma who was still glowering at the floor.

"Nanjiro," Rinko frowned at her husband.

"No," he stopped her, "I want to know what they want from you."

"I…I don't know," Hari said. "They said they just want to get to know me…because of mum and dad… I think…I think I was meant to live with them if…if something happened to mum and dad…"

And Sirius, Hari added in her mind.

"So they'll try to take you from us?" Nanjiro asked with narrowed eyes.

Hari flinched back. She hadn't thought about that. The silence that spread around the room indicated that they hadn't thought about that either.

"No," Ryoma snapped. "They can't come and take Hari-chan from us…can they?"

Hari glanced up at Rinko who looked pensive but she shook her head.

"No, the adoption has gone through," she said, "Hari-chan is ours now."

"They better know that!" Nanjiro snapped before he turned abruptly and marched out of the room and they could hear the door slamming closed behind him.

Hari was shocked by the actions from Nanjiro. The normally carefree and happy-go-lucky man was not the one Hari had expected to be angry. Not like this. She looked down and felt guilty and worry filled her.

"He'll calm down," Rinko said after a few tense seconds and patted Hari's shoulder. "Just give him some time."

Hari nodded but didn't speak. She got up and walked to her room.

...

Hari was still worried the next morning and felt her stomach sink when she didn't see Nanjiro in the kitchen when she got down for breakfast. Nanako smiled at her and put her food in front of her with a comforting pat on the shoulder.

Ryoma soon dragged himself into the kitchen and dumped down at the chair looking half-awake. Hari noticed that he didn't seem concerned by the lack of any of his parents in the kitchen.

"Oi!" A voice outside suddenly called. "Echizen! Hari-chan!"

"Momo-sempai," Ryoma muttered and shoved the rest of his toast in his mouth and stood up.

Hari had already finished and had grabbed her bag and was now waiting for her little brother by the door.

"Good morning!" Momoshiro grinned at them as he stood with one foot on the bike-pedal and the other on the ground.

"Morning," Hari and Ryoma murmured.

"What have you in such a bad mood?" Momoshiro asked.

Hari just shrugged and glanced toward the temple wondering if Nanjiro was over there. She looked away and started to walk to school with the two boys. Momoshiro was like always chatting cheerfully and managed to bring them out of their bad mood. Hari really liked that about Momoshiro.

...

 **"** **Pretty ugly duckling,"** Kaido hissed and Hari had to work hard not to burst out laughing in the classroom. The class was still there and she couldn't keep bursting out in laughter every time Kaido hissed.

"Ka-chan," Hari grinned at him and felt in a better mood again seeing the boy who had become one of her friends at this school.

"Hari-chan," he nodded.

Hari couldn't help but notice some of the girls that were closer to them send Kaido a curious look like they hadn't believed he would address anyone with –chan. Hari rolled her eyes and just smiled when he frowned at her making the same girls hurry away from him.

"Do you want to go for a run with me, Ka-chan?" Hari asked him.

Hari saw the surprised look that crossed his face before he scowled.

"Ok," he said.

"After practice today?" Hari asked.

He nodded and Hari smiled. That's was when the teacher for the next class arrived and Hari walked over to her seat and noticed Momoshiro who was leaned forward on his desk with his eyes closed and she smiled a little before she reached for a sticker from her bag and quickly scribbled something on it and placed it on his back before getting into her own seat.

"Okay, settle down," the teacher called and Momoshiro woke with a small snort and cringed when the teacher levelled a stern look at him.

...

Hari had changed and done her warm up when she noticed that Ryoma was playing against Kaido. She paused beside Sakuno and Tomoka to watch. She wondered how the game would go this time.

"Ryoma-sama!" Tomoka cheered loudly.

Hari winced slightly and rubbed her ear as she glanced at the loud girl.

"Huh," Hari said when she saw the move Ryoma used against Kaido. It was his own snake move and Hari could only guess what Kaido was thinking right now as he stared at Ryoma.

"Snake?" Sakuno and Tomoka said together.

"Snake…" Kikumaru said.

"How did he…" Kawamura wondered.

Hari tuned them out as she watched. Ryoma always proved to take new steps and evolve as he played, it was with such a speed that she found it difficult to even try to hang on and catch up to him.

"Poor Ka-chan," Hari murmured.

"Eh?" Sakuno asked and Hari realised that she had said it out loud and both girls plus the journalists were watching her now.

"Why did you say that, Hari-chan?" Tomoka asked curiously.

"He must be thrown by having his own move used against him like that," Hari explained. "It can't be easy to have someone do it and get it right on his first try…"

"That's a good point," Inoue said.

Hari just shrugged and watched Kaido who was watching Ryoma with a focused look on his face. She could only imagine what he was thinking.

Hari turned to go back to her own training. If she was going to get better then she couldn't just drop her own practice to watch Ryoma even if it was tempting. She caught sight of Tezuka standing by himself and she stilled. It wasn't really the sight of him by himself that had her pausing to watch him, but the look on his face. He looked…determined and he was staring at Ryoma.

She frowned. Why did he look at Ryoma like that?

...

Hari looked for Ryoma when she had finished her practice and before she was going to go running with Kaido. She wanted to tell him that she would be late. She rounded a corner and stopped abruptly when she saw Tezuka and Ryoma a few feet in front of her. She saw Tezuka toss a tennis ball at Ryoma, but she couldn't hear what they were saying. Soon Tezuka walked away leaving Ryoma standing there still staring at the tennis ball in his hand.

What was that about? Why the secret meeting? She wanted to go and ask Ryoma, but before she could make up her mind to do so he walked away and she didn't follow. Instead, she turned and walked to the front and saw Kaido standing there waiting for her.

"You look serious, Kaido," Fuji spoke up as he reached Kaido just before Hari made her way to them.

 **"** **The stupid voice writes the loss,"** he hissed.

Fuji just smiled and looked at Hari who reached them.

"Oh…are you going to join Kaido's training?" Fuji asked.

"Hai," Hari nodded. "I asked him to join me."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, is that's a problem?" Hari asked him.

"Saa," he smiled.

Hari rolled her eyes at him.

"You know," Fuji said looking amused. "Not many people roll their eyes at me."

"Stupid people, then," Hari said.

Fuji laughed.

"Interesting girl," he commented before started to walk toward the locker room again but he stopped when Momoshiro rushed out and looked around wildly before spotting Hari and start toward her. His face was angry and he was clutching something in his hand.

Hari noticed that Kikumaru and Kawamura along with Inui followed behind at a slower pace but still looking curious. She also noticed that Ryoma rounded the corner and seemed confused at the seeing almost the entire team still there.

"Uh-oh," Hari mumbled.

Fuji looked at her but she ignored him.

"Hari-chan!" Momoshiro yelled effectively getting the attention of everyone close by.

"Yeah, Momo-chan?" Hari asked as innocently as she could manage.

"What's this?" he demanded and waved his hand that was clutching a piece of paper.

Hari knew what it must be but she wasn't going to tell him that.

"It looks like a piece of paper," Hari said managing to get her voice to sound curious.

"You know perfectly well that it is a piece of paper!" Momoshiro said.

"Oh?" Hari asked and took a small step back and closer to Kaido who glanced at her.

"Do you know where I found it?" Momoshiro asked.

"Should I?" Hari managed to look puzzled.

"You should! You were the one to put it on my back!" Momoshiro said. "Who else would think a note that says: Just call me Sleeping Beauty!"

Hari smiled and noticed that Fuji looked amused but she kept her eye on Momoshiro who was scowling at her.

"Well…" Hari said with a small laugh.

"Do you know how confused I've been when people have called me sleeping beauty all day?" Momoshiro asked.

"You probably should have known there was a note on your back," Kaido spoke up.

"You knew, Viper?!" Momoshiro yelled.

"Well, I couldn't resist when you slept away both the class and the break," Hari said and Momoshiro looked at her. "You do look cute when you sleep."

Hari couldn't keep the teasing note out of her voice when she said it and laughed when she saw him turn red and then scowl, but she saw a note of amusement in his eyes as well even as he tried to hide it.

"Run," he said.

"Eep," Hari squeaked and grabbed Kaido's arm. "Come on, Ka-chan. I think it's time for our run now!"

...

Fuji shook his head as he watched Hari run away with Kaido close behind her and with Momoshiro following. He knew Momoshiro would soon give up because he didn't want to go out running once more, but it was an amusing sight.

"She seems lively," Fuji commented.

Ryoma glanced at him before looking away again.

"You think so?" Ryoma asked.

Fuji frowned and Ryoma knew he was watching him, but he didn't elaborate and Fuji didn't press it.

"Why does she always prank Momo-chan?" Kikumaru asked joining them. "I thought she liked him."

"Saa," Fuji shrugged and glanced at Ryoma.

"She does," Ryoma said when he got tired of them looking at him.

"Then why?" Kawamura who also looked curious.

Ryoma sighed.

"You'd have to ask her," he said.

"But you have an idea?" Fuji said.

"Well, he is an easy target," Ryoma said, "and Hari knows he can take her pranks well and isn't offended by it."

Fuji arched a brow.

"So, you mean she does it because he won't think she's bullying him?" he asked.

"That's my guess," Ryoma said before shrugging and walked away without saying anything else.

No one said anything for a moment before Kikumaru laughed.

"An interesting girl," Fuji smiled slightly.

...

Hari sank down on a bench along the river and tried to catch her breath. She glanced to the side to see Kaido jogging in place watching her.

"How can you still be going?" she asked wheezing.

He stared at her for a moment before he shrugged.

"You're not human," Hari whined when he grabbed her arm and dragged her back to her feet. She ignored the glare he sent her.

She followed him as he started to run again and she tried to pretend that her breath didn't come out in harsh pants or that her chest felt like it was burning along with the muscles in her legs. Gargoyle's, she was sure she felt pain in places she wasn't even aware that she had!

They ran through the park again and she sent a tired glare at the sun that burning in the sky and not caring that she was becoming overly hot, but she pushed on. She was not going to give up because she was going to get better. She was going to become the best she could be.

She had to. She had to prove to Nanjiro that she would belong with them and that she wasn't going to go anywhere else.

"Enough," Kaido said when they reached the school again. It was almost abandoned now, only a stray student was seen making their exits from the school.

Hari collapsed on the ground in front of the locker room and decided that it was a good place to sleep, really. It wasn't like she really needed to go anywhere.

Kaido was drinking from the water taps close by and Hari could hear him move but she didn't open her eyes.

"Here," he grunted and she forced her eyes open and saw a bottle filled with water hanging above her.

With a force of effort, she reached up and grabbed it. She fumbled with the cork before she got it opened and poured it over her face enjoying in the freshness it gave her.

"You're weird," Kaido commented.

"So are you," Hari said.

Kaido gave a small laugh and Hari smirked at him and wondered if anyone really saw the humour that was hidden in him.

...

"Where is Hari-chan?" Nanjiro asked as he glanced over at Ryoma who was sitting quietly and was staring unseeingly in front of himself. He had done that since he had gotten home from school. "Didn't you walk home together?"

He flipped through the channels on the television not really paying attention to anything on it.

"She's running with a friend," Ryoma answered distractedly.

"Running?" Nanjiro frowned. "What friend?"

"Someone from the team;" Ryoma said impatiently as he got to his feet. He walked to the door.

"Wait! A boy?!" Nanjiro yelled but Ryoma ignored him.

Nanjiro sat up and glared after Ryoma, he could hear his footsteps up the stairs.

"I wonder what's up with him," Rinko commented as she looked after her son as well. Nanako nodded.

"He's been distracted since he came back from school," she said.

Nanjiro scowled.

"Oh, what now, dear?" Rinko asked seeing his expression.

"Hari-chan isn't home yet," he said.

"Didn't Ryoma said that she was out running with a friend from the team?" Nanako asked.

"A boy," Nanjiro scoffed.

Rinko sighed and shook her head, "she's on a boys' team, dear. That means that she will make friends with them. You know Ryoma trusts them, so I'm sure they're alright."

"Still not good enough for Hari-chan," Nanjiro muttered. "I'm going out."

"Don't go looking for her, Nanjiro!" Rinko called after him, but he ignored her.

...

Hari was walking or more like wobbling up to the house when she suddenly stopped and blinked because someone tall had just appeared in front of her.

"Nanjiro!" Hari gasped. "You scared me."

"Where is he?" Nanjiro demanded.

"Who?" Hari frowned.

"The friend you went running with?" Nanjiro said.

"Ka-chan?" Hari blinked more confused than she should be but she blamed exhaustion on that, "he went home…"

"He didn't even escort you home?" Nanjiro asked scowling.

"Why should he?" Hari frowned, "it wasn't a date and I can look out for myself."

She yawned and rubbed her eyes making Nanjiro's expression to soften slightly.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Sure," she yawned. "Just tired…"

Nanjiro nodded and held out his arm which Hari grabbed and they walked the last part of the way together. Hari smiled slightly because she had worried that Nanjiro would be upset with her, he hadn't really been around since she had told them about the Atobe's. So it was a relief to find him looking for her because he was clearly not upset with her like she thought.

...

The next day Hari was feeling more tired and her muscles were protesting the workout, but she ignored it as she made her way through the school.

"You still like to think you're part of them, don't you?" a sneering voice asked.

Hari looked to the side and saw Ueda and Yamamato from the girls' tennis team. She sighed and turned to walk past them without saying anything.

"You're nothing special, you know," Yamamato said.

Hari was forced to stop when they got in her way and blocked her way. She just arched a brow unimpressed as she stared at them. Still, she wasn't saying anything.

"You think you belong here when you come and break up our team," Ueda sneered and raised a hand to poke at Hari's shoulder, but Hari read what she was going to do so she caught the hand before she could and held it still.

"Let go of me!" Ueda snapped.

Hari squeezed slightly before she let go of the wrist. Ueda grabbed it with her other hand and rubbed it slightly.

"It's your fault Yoshida decided to quit," Yamamato said when Ueda kept quiet and was just glaring at Hari. "She loved tennis more than anyone and you made her quit!"

Hari rolled her eyes at their stupidity and refused to say anything. They both tried to look threatening, scary or whatever, but Hari couldn't help but think that this was nothing to the schoolyard confrontations she had gone through back at Hogwarts.

"Are you done?" Hari asked quietly when they had stood there glaring for a moment longer.

They looked rather startled at not being taken more seriously or getting a reaction from Hari. Hari sighed and stepped past them again and walked away, this time they didn't try to stop her. She wondered if they would continue to do this. It would be bothersome if they did…

...

"Ah," Hari blinked as she rounded a corner and was once more blocked. This time it wasn't on purpose though as Yoshida suddenly was in front of her.

"Lost again?" Yoshida asked after a moment.

"No," Hari said.

Yoshida didn't look like she believed her and Hari huffed and pulled the strap of her bag longer upon her shoulder. Yoshida looked like she wanted to say something, but nothing came out of her mouth as she opened and closed it.

Hari glanced at the time. She would be late if she didn't hurry up, but there was something that told her that she should stay for a moment longer.

"So…how are you, Yoshida-san?" Hari finally asked.

"Fine," Yoshida said quickly. "I'm fine."

"That's good," Hari said.

"I thought about what you said," Yoshida said.

"Eh?" Hari looked confused.

"About finding a new way to stay involved with tennis if…if I really liked tennis," Yoshida explained and Hari remembered the conversation they'd had a while ago.

"Oh, yeah," Hari nodded. "So?"

"I want to be a manager," Yoshida said. "That way I can get my love for tennis back. At least that's what I think…"

Hari looked at her and could see that Yoshida had thought about this and she looked a little unsure but that was more because she was worried about how Hari would react. Hari wasn't sure why her reaction meant anything to the other girl, but the look in her eyes and the way she bit down on her lip told Hari enough.

"That's a good idea," Hari nodded. "Have you talked to Ryuzaki-sensei about it yet?"

Yoshida shook her head.

"Then what are you waiting for?" Hari asked and grabbed Yoshida's hand and started to pull her in the direction she thought the court was in.

"Where are we going?" Yoshida asked.

"The courts, of course!" Hari said.

"Um…that's in the other direction, Echizen-san," Yoshida said exasperatedly.

Hari stopped abruptly and turned around before she started to walk again.

"Why are we going there?" Yoshida asked but Hari ignored her.

...

They found that the practice had already started when they reached the courts and Hari saw Tezuka standing with Ryuzaki, they were talking about something, but Hari ignored that and walked up to them either way still pulling Yoshida with her.

"Hari-san," Tezuka nodded sombrely and Hari wondered if he ever smiled.

"Hari-chan," Ryuzaki smiled. "You're late."

"Gomen," Hari let go of Yoshida's hand and looked from her to the coach and captain. "I just ran into Yoshida-san and I think you should make her the manager for the team."

The bluntness startled all of them but she saw the considering look on Tezuka's face.

"Echizen-san!" Yoshida gasped.

"What?" Hari looked at her. "You want to be a manager, and we need one. I know Inui-sempai is acting as a manager right now, but he still wants to be a regular again and I'm sure that he could use the help."

They stared at her and Hari just waited for them to say something.

"That's a good point," Ryuzaki finally said and looked at Yoshida. "Is this something you could consider doing, Yoshida-san?"

Yoshida blinked at her before looking over at Hari. Hari just smiled and waited for the other girl to say something.

"I…Yeah," Yoshida said.

"Then you're the manager for the boys' team;" Ryuzaki said.

...

Hari watched as Yoshida talked with Inui and smiled a little amused as she noticed how engrossed they got as they talked, hands waving and almost hitting a poor passing first year.

"Good call, Hari-san," Tezuka said.

Hari glanced at him and smiled slightly.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

He looked at her and she thought he might look a little surprised by her question.

"Yes," he said. "How are you settling in? I've noticed that you've taken several steps in your game, Hari-san."

"I like it here," Hari said, "and I do think I've gotten better."

He nodded.

"I want to have another test for you soon," he said.

"Test?" Hari asked pushing back her nerves.

"Nothing bad," he assured her, "it's not to kick you out or anything like that."

She let a small sigh of relief slip out and didn't really care that he seemed to have seen her worry.

"Then why?" she asked.

"Just to see how much you have grown," Tezuka said pushing up his glasses as he looked at her sharply.

"And who will I be playing?" Hari asked.

"That will be decided," Tezuka said.

Hari nodded and watched as Tezuka walked away and furrowed her brows as she thought. She believed he meant it when he said that she wouldn't be kicked off the team if she didn't win, but still… she felt nervous about the test he talked about. Just what was it he was looking for?

Okay, so yeah he said it was to see how much she had grown, but did he really need a special test for that? Couldn't he just watch her now? But, maybe he was looking for something specific.

...

Ryoma sighed as he watched his father catch his latest serve in his mouth and jump up and down waving with his arms and acting like a fool. He could hear his mumbled exclamations and Ryoma let out another deep sigh.

"This is stupid," he said and turned to walk away. He couldn't deal with this right now; he had to get ready to play Tezuka. He realised that he had never actually seen Tezuka play tennis and Ryuzaki's warning that he was like Nanjiro had him excited yet slightly apprehensive about it.

He had reached the gate when he turned around to give his father one last glance before he frowned slightly. So, yeah, Ryoma was the first to say that his father was an immature man who never seemed to grow up. He was more likely to joke and tease than to actually offer any wise advice, but now…he was not really acting like himself. It seemed forced.

Nanjiro had spat out the ball and turned toward the large bell and Ryoma could tell that he seemed to deflate; the taken carefree attitude disappeared when he believed he wasn't watched.

Had he really taken what Hari said that hard? Ryoma didn't like it any better, he worried she might decide to leave but he wasn't sure what to think that his dad also seemed to be that worried. Did that mean that the chance for her leaving was that much higher?

Ryoma knew that Nanjiro really loved Hari. Hari was impossible not to love, Ryoma knew that. She was kind, had the kind of humour Nanjiro loved, and not to mention that she could handle him better than anyone else. So, the idea of Hari being connected to someone else was scary. Someone who was connected to her parents.

Ryoma wasn't sure what Nanjiro was thinking, but he was sure that he like himself had been reminded that Hari hadn't always belonged to them despite it seemed like she had been in their family forever.

...

"What's up with you lately?" Hari asked as she dumped down on Ryoma's bed. He looked up at her before he looked back again.

"Who says something is up with me?" he answered.

"Because you just answered me with a question," Hari turned to him more fully now and frowned. "Does it have anything to do with Tezuka-captain?"

Ryoma's eyes widened a little and he looked up at her surprised.

"I'm right," Hari murmured.

"How do you know…"

"I saw you talking to Tezuka a couple of days ago," Hari said, "I don't know what he said, but you've been distracted ever since."

"I'm not distracted," Ryoma protested.

"Horio told me you didn't participate during gym and just sat there staring into space," Hari said. "Also, you've kept to yourself during practice doing repetitive exercises like you're preparing for something."

He scoffed.

"Fine," he said. "He told me to meet him tomorrow, actually, and play a match with him."

"You're going to play Tezuka-captain?" Hari asked.

Ryoma nodded.

"Ryuzaki-sensei told me he was similar to Oyaji," Ryoma said.

Hari nodded looking thoughtful. Ryoma would be a little apprehensive of that, but knowing him the way she did also let her see the anticipation he felt and she knew he really wanted to win.

"I've never seen Tezuka-captain play before," Hari commented.

"Me neither," Ryoma said.

"Why the secrecy?" Hari asked after a moment.

"I have no idea," Ryoma said. "All I know is that he told me to come alone."

Hari frowned, "so that means I can't come and watch you."

Ryoma shook his head and fell back on his bed again.

...

"We're missing some people," Mizuno commented as he looked around the courts where the tennis team was gathered.

"Ryoma-kun isn't here either," Kachiro said.

"Man, what's wrong with that guy?!" Horio complained loudly.

Hari ignored them as she passed them and tried to not think about what was going on right now. She wondered if Ryoma had started to play against Tezuka yet.

She was aware that the others also noticed the absence of Tezuka, Ryoma and surprisingly Oishi. Had Oishi gone to watch the match? She wished she could have done that, but Ryoma hadn't wanted to go against Tezuka's order. Hari had to respect that, so she had gone to practice like normal.

"Ochibi-chan is late as well," Kikumaru said. "What are they doing?"

"Echizen called in sick," Ryuzaki interrupted.

Hari hid her frown as she looked at the coach.

"He's sick?" Momoshiro asked glancing over at Hari before looking back at Ryuzaki.

"Captain?"

"Sick."

"Oishi?"

"…sick."

Hari almost snorted. She could have come up with better excuses, especially since they had all been seen earlier that day at school and none of them had looked sick.

"Seems like there's a conspiracy going on here," Inui commented stepping up behind them along with Yoshida who looked curiously around.

"What kind of conspiracy would involve tennis?" Fuji asked.

"Something like crushing the thorn in your eye?" Kaido asked.

"I don't think we can be calm about this," Fuji said. "Hari-chan? Do you know what's going on?"

Hari had waited for them to turn to her and she kept her face blank as she shrugged.

"I don't know why they would lie about being sick," Hari said glancing at Ryuzaki.

"Don't worry about other people!" Ryuzaki interrupted. "You have a lot of work to do."

They agreed and turned back to the practice.

"So, they're sick, eh?" Hari asked looking at Ryuzaki.

"I take it your brother told you what he was doing today," Ryuzaki asked.

"Hai," Hari nodded. "When I asked him. Do you know why Tezuka-captain wanted to play against him?"

Ryuzaki gave her a look before she looked away and over at the team practice.

"He's had some concerns about Ryoma's aspirations and the reason for why he plays tennis," Ryuzaki said.

"Eh?" Hari frowned. "Ryo-chan plays to beat Nanjiro."

Ryuzaki nodded and had a pensive look on her face.

"What's wrong with that?" Hari demanded, starting to feel annoyed. She didn't like the thought of anyone questioning Ryoma's reasons for playing tennis, not when he had been the one to bring her into the game.

"Nothing," Ryuzaki assured her kindly. "Hari-chan, no one is saying it is wrong. Tezuka is only concerned that Ryoma gets too similar to Nanjiro and will just be his copy. He wants to show Ryoma that there are other good players out there and that Ryoma should also focus on them and not just his dad."

Hari frowned in thought and she had to admit that it was a good point. She sighed and nodded.

...

Hari decided to go look for Ryoma as soon as the practice was over, she wanted to see how it had gone and maybe they would still be playing. It wouldn't hurt to just see the end of the match, would it? They didn't even have to know that she'd been there.

Only problem was…she was lost.

Not only that, but she wasn't even in Tokyo anymore. How could she have done this again? She had taken the train after school, thinking she could speed up the time spent getting to the court she knew Ryoma and Tezuka was using. That way she could catch the last part of the game.

A good plan, really. Hari had not seen any problems with it. So she got on a train and then she sat down and stared out of the window and…fallen asleep.

And now…she was in a place she had no idea where was. She had gotten off the train realising that she had stayed on for too long, but she hadn't realised that she had travelled out of the city.

Rinko and Nanjiro were going to kill her. This shouldn't have happened again! She had been told to pay attention when she used the trains. She should have learned her lesson when she ended up in Chiba last time, but now she wasn't even in Chiba.

So, where was she?

She looked around for a sign and walked past the crowded station, people were hurrying past her not paying her any attention. But that was just fine for her.

She eventually found a large sign reading:

Yokohama, Kanagawa

Hari sighed and pulled a hand through her hair exasperatedly. It was official. She was a lost cause. She was so going to be grounded forever and never be allowed outside again. Not that she could blame them.

She kicked at the nearby bench and let out a small curse.

"What's that bench done to you, miss uncomplicated girl?"

Hari jumped at the soft voice and realised with a stab of horror that someone had been sitting on the bench and she hadn't seen him. She recognised him as the boy she had met on the bus before she had met Yukiko and Jurou.

"Oh," she blushed. "Gomen. I didn't see you."

"I think I got that," he smiled lightly at her. "At least I hope you didn't mean to kick the bench I was sitting on."

He was amused and Hari relaxed a little seeing that. She smiled sheepishly at him and pushed a rebellious strand of hair back behind her ear as she looked at him. He got up and she noticed that he was fairly tall, but not as tall as Tezuka if she would guess. Some might make the mistake and think he looked frail and weak, but she knew he was anything but. The sharpness and intelligence that shone in his eyes was proof enough for her to know that he was stronger than most would guess.

"You got me, I was purposely kicking the bench because I knew you were sitting there," she said as serious she could manage.

He laughed and his violet-blue eyes seemed to shine in amusement but she could see some shadows hidden in them.

"Then I guess I should be offended," he said.

Hari shrugged.

"I was wondering if I would see you again," he said changing the subject and Hari blinked at him. "I was wondering if you had found a solution to your problem with complicated boys."

Hari snorted.

"No, boys' are still complicated," Hari said.

She hadn't really thought that much about Saeki lately and she guessed that the meeting with Keigo and his parents had pushed the thoughts out of her head, and then there had been a lot going on with practice and worry about Nanjiro… so, yeah thoughts about Saeki had been pushed out.

"I see," he said. "I guess I should apologize."

Hari snorted.

"Yukimura Seiichi, yoroshiku," the boy suddenly said and Hari looked at him again. He smiled gently at her and it was a kindness around him that had her immediately smile back, she could tell from his eyes that he was not unfamiliar with pain. Though, the kindness was genuine and warm.

"Echizen Hari," she said. "Yoroshiku."

They fell silent for a moment and Hari wondered if she should excuse herself and go and look for the train back to Tokyo because she knew she shouldn't try to leave the station. She didn't want to admit it, but she would probably get lost.

"You didn't tell me what the bench had done to you, Echizen-san," he spoke up.

Much to Hari's surprise he seemed inclined to continue talking to her.

"Well," Hari blushed again feeling silly and she met his eyes and suddenly her mouth felt a little dry. Before she could find the words that seemed to temporarily vacate her much to her confusion because all she had was look up and meet his eyes, a boy that was ridiculously tall with short dark hair and a dark cap that shadowed his face came up to them.

"Ah, Genichiro," Seiichi said. "You're back."

"Hai," he nodded.

"Echizen, this is my friend, Sanada Genichiro," Seiichi introduced. "Genichiro, this is Echizen Hari."

Hari smiled and waved at him while he gave a polite nod but didn't smile.

"Can we help you with something, perhaps?" Seiichi asked looking away from his friend and over at Hari who blinked at him. "You seem to be lost."

Hari wasn't sure how he knew that, but then again it might not be that difficult to guess.

"Well," Hari grimaced, "I guess I am."

"I know it can be difficult to get to a new place when you're used to Tokyo," Seiichi said. "If you tell us where you meant to go we can maybe help you get there."

Hari pushed another rebellious strand of hair away from her face feeling her cheeks burning a soft red.

"I'm going back to Tokyo," she said.

"Didn't you just come from Tokyo?" Seiichi asked surprised. "I mean, you came from the platform where the train from Tokyo stops."

Hari sighed.

"I did," she said.

"Then…"

"I didn't mean to leave Tokyo, alright!" Hari snapped.

They stared at her.

"Gomen," she sighed. "I fell asleep on the train and I somehow ended up here… Rinko and Nanjiro are going to kill me for doing this again…"

"Again?" Seiichi asked curiously.

"Yeah, again," Hari muttered. "Last time I ended up in Chiba."

Seiichi looked amused now and Hari couldn't help but smile a little as well. She even believed she saw Sanada's lips twitch amused.

"Well, I'm going back to Tokyo," Seiichi said after a moment. "I can show you the way back so you don't end up in another city…"

"You look too amused," she said dryly.

Seiichi laughed and Hari thought she saw Sanada glance at him almost surprised. She made a note of it but didn't say anything.

...

They ended up finding a small place to eat on the station and Hari was surprised how easy it was to talk to Seiichi. She found out that he liked gardening and with her old classes in Herbology and the fact that Aunt Petunia had made her take care of the garden back at Privet Drive for as long as Hari could remember had her she knew a lot about the subject herself.

Sanada was quiet for the most part, but Hari could feel him watching her closely but when she looked at him he averted his eyes and pretended that he hadn't just watched her.

"You can go back now if you want, Genichiro," Seiichi eventually said. "The train is going to be here soon and I have company now."

Hari watched curiously as Sanada gave his friend what seemed like a worried look and Seiichi just smiled and there seemed to be a silent conversation between them. Hari suddenly felt nostalgic seeing that and she suddenly missed Ron and Hermione something fierce.

Sanada nodded and grabbed his bag and gave her a nod before leaving without looking back.

"He seems like a good friend," Hari commented after a moment.

"He is," Seiichi nodded. "He's my oldest friend."

Hari nodded and took a sip of her soda.

...

It was dark by the time they reached Tokyo and Hari wondered how much trouble she was in. She sighed and looked at Seiichi who was looking a little more grave than he had before and she wondered what he was thinking.

"Thank you for your help," Hari said.

"No trouble," he smiled.

"So, I should go," Hari sighed. "I might actually get home before it gets too late."

He nodded.

"Do you have plans tomorrow?"

 **...**

 **...**

 **AN: Thank you for reading and to everyone who has left a review, favourited and/or followed my story!**

 **What do you think? I know Nanjiro might seem out of character, but I hope I've managed to show that he has this side of him too. He is protective of Hari and doesn't react well to the threat of her being taken away.**

 **I know, it's not my best chapter, but this one took forever to get ready and I just had to say "enough" to myself. It is the best I could get it. It also turned out much longer than I planned as well (about 1000 words longer)... I just never seemed to reach a natural ending place, and I wanted to have a scene (which turned out to more and longer than I planned) with Yukimura before I ended the chapter. Well, you saw how that ended ;)**

 **A sort of disclaimer: I have no idea exactly what city Rikkaidai is located, only that it's in the Kanagawa prefecture. I did a search on google and just decided that Yokohama would be the city where Rikkaidai would be located. Yokohama is the capital of Kanagawa. If this is wrong, please let me know and I'll change it. :)**

 **Also, I plan for Hari to have a match again soon (in a chapter or two). Another test of her talents ;) She will also be showing a new move at that time :) Any thoughts on who she should be playing this time? I'm deliberating between Kikumaru, Momoshiro or Kaido. If you have a wish for who you want Hari to play against please let me know in the reviews:)**

 **Japanese words used:**  
 **Saa -filler**  
 **Gomen - sorry**  
 **Oyaji - old man/dad**  
 **Ochibi-chan - from 'chibi' means small. An endearing nickname often used on children.**  
 **Hai - Yes**  
 **Yoroshiku - Nice to meet you**


	18. Yukimura Seiichi

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Prince of Tennis!**

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 **A small explanation about some changes I've made in regards to Seiichi's backstory at the end of the chapter :)**

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"Why are you asking?" Hari asked Seiichi giving him a look and tried to read him, but his expression revealed nothing.

"Do I need to have a reason?" he asked.

Hari frowned as she looked at him. He smiled at her and she couldn't help but notice that he looked cute and handsome as he watched her. She pushed the thought away and focused.

"Are you asking me out on a date?" Hari asked not really knowing what she hoped he would answer. She was a little confused by the fact that she almost wished for him to say yes.

"Would you agree to a date?" he arched a brow.

Hari swallowed and he smiled.

"I know you're not ready for that," he said and she blinked. "So, I would like to meet you and get to know you."

Why did she feel disappointed at the same time as relieved?

"That sounds fine," she agreed with a small smile. "And no, other than school and tennis practice I don't have any plans tomorrow."

"Tennis practice?" he looked curiously at her. "You play?"

"Yeah," Hari nodded. "You?"

"Not at the moment," he said and a shadow passed over his face as he glanced away from her.

Hari wanted to ask, but the look on his face stopped her.

"Well, what do you want to do tomorrow?" she asked changing the subject and he looked back at her with something that resembled confusion and curiosity in his eyes as he stared at her for a moment before he smiled and his face cleared.

"Depends," he said.

"On?"

"What you want to do," he said. "There's this botanic garden I would like to visit, and if you want we could go there together."

"Sure," Hari said, "I haven't been at a botanic garden before."

"Then we need to change that," he smiled. "So, meet around four in the afternoon?"

"Daijobu," Hari nodded. "Here…"

She wrote her number on a small piece of paper and handed it to him.

"My number," she explained. "Text me so I'll have your number as well. I'll let you know if I'm grounded for life for getting lost. Again."

He laughed and nodded.

"Sure thing," he said and did something she had never experienced before. He took her hand and bowed over it like you only saw in old movies (not that she had seen many movies) or read about in romance books and then…then he kissed it. "It was nice to see you again, Hari-chan."

Hari felt flustered and only managed to stutter out a reply and left before she could make a fool out of herself.

...

What was that? Hari leaned against the front door after closing it behind her having arrived home yet having no memory of how she did so. She stared at her hand like she'd never seen it before. She couldn't remember ever feeling so flustered and thrown off before. He had just kissed her hand.

He had kissed her hand.

It didn't mean anything. He was just teasing her. Right. She inhaled and nodded to herself. He was just teasing her. Her eyes lingered on the spot on her hand where he had kissed her, where she had felt his lips on her skin…

She felt her cheeks burn and frowned as her flustered feelings rushed back and again she shook her head to clear it. She clenched her hand and forcibly let it fall to her side and tried her best to force herself to calm down. She had other worries now and with that thought, she looked up to see Rinko watching her curiously and contemplatively.

"Hari-chan," she said and Hari fought the blush again. "Okaeri."

Just what had she seen?

"Tadaima," Hari said. "Um… I'm sorry I'm late…"

"We were about to go and look for you," Rinko said. "We worried you had gotten lost again."

Hari grimaced and rubbed her neck as she looked at the older woman who was still watching her warmly and curiously. Hari felt bad for worrying her over something like this but at the same time…she felt warmth fill her chest at the knowledge that they would go and look for her.

Back at the Dursley's no one would have gone out to look for her if she didn't come home at night. She was more likely to find the doors locked and herself shut out of the house for the night.

"Right," Hari muttered and looked at Rinko. "About that…"

She knew she had to tell the truth. She wouldn't lie about what happened. She couldn't bring herself to lie to them.

...

Hari found herself in her room an hour later after a talk and scolding from Rinko and Nanjiro about how she had to learn to pay attention to her surroundings and learn how the train system worked before using it. That was why she had been forbidden to take the train on her own until she had learned (and proved) she could handle it without getting lost.

Hari couldn't help feeling that she deserved that punishment. She had just been silent and listened and nodded when she had to show she had understood what they were saying. The worst punishment, though, wasn't the scolding or the forbidding of using the trains alone. No, it was the fact that she disappointed them and had worried them.

She did feel a relief over the fact that she hadn't been grounded. She would be able to go and see Seiichi the next day…and there her thoughts were back on him. But…did she want to see him? Her confused thoughts rushed through her as she wondered what he was thinking and why he had done that.

Seriously, she had not been thinking about any boy this much since Saeki…

Saeki… she blinked as she realised for the first time this evening that her ban on using the train meant that she couldn't go to Chiba and see him and get his help on how to make her motion vision stronger.

She felt the familiar fluttering in her stomach as her mind turned from Seiichi and over at Saeki and the way he smiled at her and made her feel like she mattered. He was very kind and thoughtful, and Hari missed him. How long had it been since she'd seen him now? So much had happened since then.

...

"What are you daydreaming about?" a voice brought her out of her thoughts and she looked to the door and saw Ryoma watching her curiously.

"Nani mo," she said and sat up. "What's up?"

"I just wanted to see if you survived your scolding," he smirked.

"Haha, very funny," Hari pouted.

"Oh, come on, Hari," Ryoma smiled as he stepped into her room and sat down on her office chair. "You know you're really hopeless on the trains…"

"Hai, hai," Hari scowled. "You don't need to rub it in. I can't take the train alone anymore…"

Ryoma looked at her for a moment.

"Well, you don't really need the trains to get around," he said.

She looked away. She wasn't sure why she didn't tell him about Saeki and how he helped her with her tennis, and for that, she needed to go to Chiba…but something held her back.

"How did your match against Tezuka-Captain go?" Hari asked changing the subject.

He frowned and she knew. He had lost. She wasn't sure if she felt surprised or not by that. She knew better than anyone just how good Ryoma was, but she knew that Tezuka must be good as well even without having watched him play.

"I lost," Ryoma said.

"So, he was good?" Hari asked.

"He's very strong;" Ryoma nodded and looked distractedly out of the window and blinked as Hedwig came flying through it and landed on the desk right in front of Ryoma. "Ew. Is that a dead mouse?"

Hari glanced at the thing that Hedwig had placed on the desk and smiled at the disgusted look on Ryoma's face as he scooted a little away from it.

"Good girl, Hedwig," Hari complimented her owl while Ryoma grimaced again. Hedwig let out a soft coo and puffed out her chest in pride and looked over at Ryoma. "Ryo-chan, tell her she did well."

"Nande?" he asked her.

"Because she looks at you to tell her," Hari rolled her eyes.

"Ehm," Ryoma looked at Hedwig. "Good girl?"

Hedwig seemed to huff and roll her golden eyes before picking up the mouse and flying over to her cage.

"You have an odd pet, Hari," Ryoma said and Hari smiled.

"Hedwig is special," she said, "but back to our conversation, tell me about the match?"

Ryoma sighed and told her about how he had gone all out against Tezuka but he had returned everything Ryoma had given and how he felt frustrated. Frustrated like only he felt while playing Nanjiro.

"You'll figure it out," Hari said confidently.

"Dou?"

"By thinking and training," Hari said. "You can do it, Ryo-chan."

He smiled slightly and nodded but he looked pensive and Hari didn't say anything else. She knew her little brother. He needed to think on his own and not be pushed into talking when he looked like that. Hari watched him as he stared out of the window.

...

The next day found Hari excited and nervous at the same time, but she was unable to say just why she felt nervous. She never felt nervous like this before seeing Saeki, but she didn't want to think about why that may be.

She almost wished she could skip the entire school day and practice, but again it offered the distraction she needed before meeting Seiichi again.

"Ryo-chan," Hari smiled when she found him during lunch.

He wasn't eating and she sighed. She pushed food in front of him and when he looked up she gave him a pointed look and smiled when he grabbed the sandwich and started to eat.

"Happy?" he asked.

"Of course," she said as she sat down next to him under the tree he was resting under. "Why are you alone? I thought Horio-chan and the others usually dragged you with them for lunch."

"Then why did you come looking for me?" he asked distractedly.

Hari sighed.

"Fine," she said. "I thought you might avoid them and not eat."

"I'm fine, Hari," he said.

"I know you are," Hari said as she took a bite of her own sandwich. "But you are my little brother, so is it that strange that I would want to check on you?"

Ryoma glanced at her and allowed a small smile to cross his face.

"I guess," he said.

They ate in silence for a while and just watched the other students that crossed the yard and they did spot some of their teammates but none of them seemed to see them or decided against going over to them at least.

"I won't come to the practice today;" Ryoma suddenly said.

"I figured;" Hari looked at him. She wasn't surprised, she knew that Ryoma needed to think and work out how to handle whatever Tezuka had told him or showed him and Ryoma did that best by playing against his dad.

Ryoma nodded and got up just as the bell rang signalling the end of lunch.

...

Hari had worked hard at practice and dodged questions about where Ryoma was and why he had not shown up for practice again. She knew that the others were curious, especially Momoshiro and the first year trio. She had a suspicion that Fuji had an idea about all this because he had looked at her with a knowing look, but she didn't say anything and neither did he.

So, now she found herself dodging Momoshiro (again) and leave to meet Seiichi. She felt bad for not saying goodbye to Momoshiro but she knew it would be difficult to get away if she paused to talk to him and she was already late. So, she made a mental note to talk to the dunk specialist the next day and apologize then.

She had agreed to meet Seiichi at a park not that far from the school and found him waiting for her. She smiled a little as she saw him leaning against a tree and noticed how he was staring up at the tree as he was waiting. He looked fascinated and Hari wondered just what was so fascinating about that tree.

"Konnichiwa," Seiichi smiled at her when she came close enough for him to notice her. "You got here faster than I thought you would."

"I think I'm still late, though," Hari smiled. "Sorry about that."

"No problem," he said and pushed away from the tree. "Do you want to go?"

"Sure," she said and they started to walk side by side. "How was your day?"

He shrugged, "long. Boring."

Hari glanced at him before looking away again.

"Yours?" he asked.

"It was alright, I guess," Hari said. "Tennis practice made it better."

"Did you have a good practice?" he asked.

"It was so and so," she said, "I feel… no, never mind."

"What?" he asked.

"I can tell you don't really want to talk about tennis," Hari said, "so we don't have to."

"No, it's fine," he assured her. "I want to know. What do you feel?"

Hari looked at him and could tell he looked honestly interested so she started to talk.

"Well, I guess I feel a little stuck, "she admitted. "I joined the boys' team a while ago and I'm trying to keep up with them. But I need to get better and I don't really know what more I can do to get better. I need to have something that makes me stand out, but right now I'm just working on standard stuff and while I know that's important, I have to get better…"

She frowned.

"Nande?" Seiichi asked. "If you are on the boys' team you must be good. I know Seigaku, we've played them before and I know they are very strict about their tennis. So, if they let you on the boys' team then you must be a good player and they must see something in you that made them accept you."

Hari looked at him and wasn't sure what to say. Why did she need to get better? How to explain it? Why should she explain it..

"I guess it's because I want to prove to my family that I can do it," she finally said surprising herself. "I…I was recently adopted and my adopted dad and brother is very good at tennis. I just want to show them that I can do something to, and prove to them that I fit in…I need to do it. For them and for me."

Hari wasn't sure why she admitted that to Seiichi. It wasn't something she had talked about before, but it was true. She did feel like she had to prove it to them, to prove that she belonged with them and tennis was something they all understood.

Seiichi was silent for a long time and she was starting to get worried that she had said too much and that he thought she was overly dramatic or something when he spoke again.

"Have they said that?" he asked.

"No," Hari frowned.

"Then why do you feel you have to?"

"Just because," Hari said.

He nodded, "well, I won't pretend that I know the answer because I haven't watched you play before so I don't know your strengths and weaknesses, but what I usually tell my team when they are working to get better is; work on your strength and what you already have. Develop it and trust that you are enough."

Hari frowned as she thought about what he said. Work on her strengths… it sounded simple but yet difficult at the same time.

Seiichi let her think and didn't say anything else but he glanced at her from time to time both curious and concerned.

...

They reached the botanic garden and Hari smiled as she pushed her thoughts out of her mind for not and looked around the spacious garden with sandy paths between green grass and trees and flowers. It was really idyllic.

"Let's go," Seiichi said and she nodded and followed him down a path with tall cherry trees.

They chatted easily as they walked and Seiichi told her a few things about the plants as they passed them and she found it to be quite interesting and asked questions. She was relieved to see that he enjoyed her questioning and she relaxed even more.

"It's beautiful here," she said looking around and took in the lake that had appeared on their right side. She briefly wondered if this lake had a giant squid, but she really doubted it. Despite the lack of the giant squid, she found the same calm and serenity she usually found in the grounds of Hogwarts in this park and she couldn't help the smile that crossed her face as she took in the garden around her.

"I find it peaceful," Seiichi said also looking around before walking to an empty bench and sat down.

She looked at him and wondered what was going through his mind. He looked pensive and she couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking. She walked closer and looked out over the lake when she stopped just a few steps away from where he was sitting.

The silence lasted between them and neither seemed inclined to break it for a while. It was getting late and Hari could tell that the sky was turning darker and twilight was closing in, but she didn't say anything.

"You're very patient," Seiichi broke the silence. "Most would have asked by now."

"No one has called me patient before," Hari commented amused as she glanced at him. She wondered what Hermione would say if she heard Seiichi call Hari patient. Probably huff and roll her eyes. "Nande?"

Seiichi smiled a little before it fell away and he turned serious again and Hari frowned slightly as she took in the change in him.

"Do you know what Guillain-Barre syndrome or GBS is?" Seiichi asked.

Hari paused and thought about it, she couldn't say that it sounded familiar to her so she eventually shook her head and wished that Hermione had been there because she was sure Hermione would know.

"Thought so," Seiichi said.

Hari sat down beside him and looked at him but didn't say anything.

"It's a disease that makes your muscles weak and you find yourself unable to use your muscles in the areas that are affected," Seiichi said still staring out over the pond. "It can be fatal if your respiratory muscles are affected."

"What's causing it?" Hari asked quietly.

"Your immune system is damaging your nervous system," Seiichi answered.

"Sounds terrible," Hari said while observing Seiichi. She felt sure why he was saying this and she really hoped that she was wrong because that disease sounded just horrible.

He glanced at her and when he saw her watching him he didn't look away again as he met her eyes with his own violet eyes.

"It is," he said quietly and visibly inhaled like he was steeling himself. "I got it last year. It affected the muscles in my legs."

Hari felt her eyes widen slightly but she had known he would say he had it from the moment he started to explain it. She felt bad for him and she felt admiration for the way he kept going, for being able to tell her like this. She wasn't sure what she would have done if she had faced with something like that.

"You're the first who hasn't looked away from me when I told them," he said with a small smile.

"Why would I look away?" Hari asked.

"Some, well most, find it too horrible and don't know how to act," Seiichi shrugged.

"How are you now?" Hari asked while filing away his last comment to think about later.

"I'm doing better," he smiled and seemed to relax more. "I'm still in and out of the hospital, but I had my surgery and they say I make great progress."

"You're very brave," Hari said after a moment of silence.

"Brave?" he blinked and looked at her.

"Yeah," she said. "To fight it like you have."

"Don't really see that I had any other choice," Seiichi said looking away from her.

"There's always a choice," Hari said firmly and he couldn't help but look over at her. "You could have decided to not fight. You might say that you had to fight it, but that was a choice."

He stared at her for a moment before he smiled and let a small laugh escape.

"You're a weird one," he said.

Hari would have been offended but his tone and smile told her that he wasn't being mean and that he didn't mean anything bad by his words. She just smiled slightly and looked back at the lake and realised that it was now dark and the daylight had gone.

"We should go," Seiichi said. "The garden is closing really soon."

Hari nodded and followed him again.

...

They said their goodbyes when they reached the park where they had met and Seiichi did the same bowing-over-her-hand-and-kissed it-thing he had done before making Hari give him a curious look better able to hide the flustered feeling that flashed through her at the action.

She walked the now (luckily) familiar way through the streets back home and thought about everything Seiichi had told her that day. She was surprised that he had said that much, but it might be for the same reason why she had opened up to him like she had. Sometimes you just needed to talk to someone and sometimes it helped that you didn't really know them that well. It could be easier to just say it without thinking then. It hadn't really happened for her before, but with Seiichi…she felt that she could trust him. Her gut instinct told her that so she had and she couldn't really bring herself to regret it.

She couldn't help but feel for him, though. That disease sounded terrible and she made a mental note to research it later and learn more about it. Maybe she could help him somehow. She hoped she could.

She was just at the temple when she heard the noise coming from inside and she paused and looked up through the gate and with a moment hesitation walked through it and looked around for the sound.

She stopped hidden by the darkness as she spotted Ryoma hitting tennis ball after tennis ball over the net. Nanjiro was there as well returning every ball that Ryoma hit.

He was still practising? Hari thought as she stared at them. He must have been playing for hours and hours. She could tell just from the way he seemed exhausted yet determined.

Hari stayed watching for another minute before she turned and walked back down the path she had come and to the house.

...

"Hari-chan," Rinko smiled when she saw her. "You're back."

"Hai," Hari nodded. "I'm sorry I'm late."

Rinko nodded and frowned.

"Are you alright, Hari-chan?" she asked.

"I'm fine," Hari said distractedly. "I'm just tired."

Hari smiled once before walking up the stairs and to her room where she collapsed down at her bed and stared at the ceiling.

She had to work a lot harder if she wanted to avoid falling too far behind Ryoma and his massive talent. It was the first time she felt intimidated by the sheer talent of her chosen brother.

She did think that Seiichi had a point, but it was hard to just see it logically and detached. Her need to prove to them, to herself that she belonged and that she shared tennis with them was starting to take over her mind.

Work with what you have.

What did she have? What did she have that she could develop and make stronger?

So, yeah, she had gotten pretty good at the motion vision that Saeki had taught her. She wasn't sure how to make that stronger, though. Maybe she should ask Saeki sometime? Then she remembered that she wasn't allowed to use the train and therefore couldn't go and see him. She frowned but pushed the problem away for now. She would figure it out later.

Her serve was getting better as well, and Tezuka had helped her with it so she felt more confident in it. But…it wasn't perfect.

Her mind spun with thoughts and ideas that kept being blocked by her own logical side but her mind wouldn't shut down even as she heard footsteps outside her door and someone entered the room next to her own and she knew that Ryoma had finally gotten home.

...

Hari wished she could write to Hermione and Ron and get their advice on everything going through her mind at the moment. She knew they would have been able to help her with it and she missed their constant presence in her life.

Hermione would suggest going to the library and read more about tennis to learn more about the sport and that way learn how to get stronger. Or more like Hermione would rush off to the library for her and check out all the books and bring them back to Hari and tell her to start reading.

Hari would even if she would exchange an exasperated look with Ron before doing it. Ron would be more at ease and tell her to trust her instincts and skills.

Hari had gone to the library at school and used her lunch break to read about tennis, but she really didn't think her answers were in these books. She was passed this, and she had already read a lot of it.

What she wanted was something that symbolised her new path in life, her new start and a way to use it to get stronger. She looked out at the court through the window and popped her head on her arm resting on the desk.

A new start.

She frowned and wondered… she might have an idea and she felt a smile cross her lips as she sat up straight and stared at the book in front of her. She quickly started to flip through it until she got to the part she was looking for.

...

Hari went through practice as normal but she couldn't wait until she could try out her new idea, she knew it needed a lot of work and fine-tuning, and she needed to try it out before she really knew if her idea was promising or not.

And she wasn't going to try it out here. She wanted to do it on her own where she couldn't be seen by the others. Something told her to keep it to herself for now.

"You look to be in a hurry," Fuji stepped up behind Hari who jumped and spun around glaring at him.

"Don't do that!" she gasped.

"Do what?" he smiled innocently.

"You know perfectly well what," Hari grumbled. "What do you want?"

"So rude," Fuji commented dryly. "Don't you respect your sempai?"

Hari sighed. She wanted to get going and get started on her new idea and see if she could get it to work. She didn't want to stand here talking with Fuji when he was in a mood to tease her and clearly found something very amusing. Most likely her if Hari was honest with herself.

"Sure," she sighed. "What do you want, sempai?"

"I just wondered what has you so impatient today," Fuji looked at her, his head tilted to the side curiously. "You seem eager to leave practice today and are even ignoring the rest of us…"

"So you come over here to see what I'm up to?" she arched a brow. "What's it to you if I'm eager to leave as you say?"

"I'm curious," he said unashamedly.

"Of course you are," Hari sighed. "And…I'm not telling you."

"Saa?" He arched a brow. "Now I'm really curious… are you hiding a boy from us perhaps?"

Hari blinked at him surprised and ignored the fact that both Saeki and Seiichi flashed through her mind at his words.

"Ie," she said. "Why would I…"

She shook her head.

"Ie," she said again.

"Hm," he frowned. "Perhaps I should ask Echizen."

"No!" Hari said and he smiled like she had confirmed something.

"Then tell me," he said. "And I'll consider not asking your brother."

Hari scowled at him. Who would have thought that Fuji would…okay, so maybe it wasn't that surprising from what she had heard of him, but…She sighed. She wasn't sure what to say, or if she just should ignore him.

She wasn't really that against Ryoma finding out was she?

Yes. She was. She wanted to surprise him. She wanted to work this out without his help to show that she could do it without having his help. Not because she didn't want his help, but because she wanted, no needed, to prove that she could do it. That she deserved to be his sister.

So that meant…she looked at Fuji who was smiling and watching her curiously.

"Fine," she sighed and his smile grew in the victory. "I'm trying to develop a new move and want to do it away from here, so I'm going to another court to practice and try to figure it out."

Fuji actually opened his eyes so she could see the blue eyes looking back at her in his surprise.

"And that is what you don't want Echizen to know?" he asked confused.

"Hai," Hari nodded. "So…"

"Nande?" Fuji asked.

"Why what?"

"Why don't you want him to know?" Fuji asked.

"Just don't," Hari said, "I want to surprise him and he's busy with his own thing and I won't bother him with this."

Fuji stared at her for a moment before he nodded.

"Daijobu," he said. "Come on."

"Eh?"

"Come on, Hari-chan," Fuji said and started to walk and Hari followed just because she felt confused and wasn't sure what was going on.

...

"This is a good court," Hari looked around and saw the kids playing not far from where they were.

"I used to come here with my little brother," Fuji said and Hari blinked. She wasn't aware that he had a brother. "It's nice."

Hari nodded.

"But why…"

"I'll help you," Fuji said simply. "You need someone to feed you the balls and to work out your move."

Hari stared at him. A part of her wanted to protest, but another part…another part saw the logic in his words. She knew Fuji was a great player, he was called a genius in tennis. So, he would be able to offer her good help.

"Alright," she said and he smiled.

"So, tell me," Fuji said. "What is your idea?"

...

Hari was exhausted when she got back home that night and she barely managed to keep her eyes open long enough to eat dinner and then do her homework. Fuji had liked her idea and had offered some modifications to it helping her make it even stronger. He had pushed her harder than she thought he would, but she liked it.

"Ryo-chan," Hari mumbled when she felt someone at her side and saw Ryoma watching her. "Are you ok?"

"I should be asking you that," he frowned. "You look really tired."

"M'fine," she mumbled and Ryoma sighed and grabbed her arm and managed to get her over to the bed. "Wha'u'ing?"

"You need to sleep," Ryoma said. "You're not even making sense now."

"'m'so," but her eyes were already closed and her breathing slowing down. "Ryo-chan… I'll prove it to you…"

Ryoma frowned down at the now sleeping girl before he walked out of her room and closed the door behind him quietly. He had just looked in on her because he thought she looked tired during dinner and he was worried, and he'd seen her almost asleep at her desk so he decided to get her over to the bed.

Just what did she mean by that last part? What would she prove? She didn't have anything she needed to prove… Still frowning he went into his room and patted Karupin as he sat down on his bed.

He would talk to her later. Ask what she meant.

...

Seiichi was in his room at the hospital. He didn't really like it but unlike the other times he had been there he didn't feel the same claustrophobic feeling this time. His mind was busy with the mystery of Hari.

He kept thinking about the afternoon they spent together and how she hadn't looked away from him when he told her about his disease. Everyone looked away to hide the pity and the horror they were feeling from him. His team, his parents, his grandparents… everyone.

Hari hadn't. She looked straight at him and while he saw the horror and sympathy in her deep green eyes, he saw now pity. He felt…refreshed by the fact that she didn't try to hide what she felt about his disease from him.

He wasn't even sure why he had told her. It wasn't like him to complain to strangers about his struggles with the sickness. He never really did that, only Sanada had been privy to how he struggled and his anger at the disease.

While he hadn't really said anything about that part of his disease to Hari, only admitting to having GBS, he could see himself telling her. He almost had. He had almost lost control over his restraint and told her just how difficult, how unfair, how terrible it all was and how he sometimes thought he would never be able to play tennis again.

There was something about her that made him feel like she would understand. A connection between them and he would bet that she felt it too.

Oh, not to get him wrong, it wasn't like he thought he was in love with her or anything. He never believed in love at first sight like in those romantic books and movies he heard girls talk about. No, it was interest, interest and curiosity.

It was Saturday now. Would she have plans or would she be free to come and see him? To save him from boredom?

He sent her a quick text and put the phone down as he walked over to the window. He wasn't sure how long he stood there before his phone buzzed and he saw a reply.

A smile crossed his face when he saw that she was free to come and meet him and would be there in ten minutes or so.

...

Twenty minutes later the door to his room opened and he saw Hari standing there in her training clothes and her racket bag over her shoulder so he would say it was a pretty easy bet to make to say that she had been out to play tennis.

"Hey," she smiled. "Bored?"

"Hai," he smiled back. "Have you been playing tennis?"

She nodded and entered the room closing the door behind her and putting her bag down next to the door before walking closer to him.

"I'm working on my new move," she grinned at him. "Thanks to you I had some new ideas."

"Glad I could help," he said.

"So this is where you have been locked up," she said looking around the room. "It's cosier than I expected and at least you got a private room. I remember back at my old school and I ended up at the Hospital Wing I was in this large room with lots of bed… hated to be stuck in there over the weekend."

Seiichi snorted. She always said something he was not expecting her to say.

"Sounds tough," he said. "You were in the hospital?"

She glanced at him before looking away but he saw her green eyes suddenly look darker before they cleared and she smiled slightly at him, and he couldn't help but notice that her left hand grabbed her right lower arm almost subconsciously.

"It happened a few times," she said. "Injuries from sports and all that."

Before he could say anything else the door opened and a ball of energy ran into the room and attached himself around Seiichi's waist.

"Seiichi-nii-chan!"

"Minoru-chan," Seiichi smiled slightly at the younger boy who froze when he spotted Hari standing there watching them with a bemused expression on her face.

"Oh, you have a visitor?" he asked.

"I do," Seiichi nodded and looked over Minoru's head and spotted his best friend standing in the door staring at Hari as well.

"Hari-chan," Seiichi said. "This is my little cousin, Yukimura Minoru. You already met Genichiro."

"Nice to meet you, Minoru-chan," Hari smiled and waved at the younger boy. He kind of resembled Seiichi, his features a little rounder than Seiichi's but the eyes was the same violet-blue and his navy blue hair was a little darker than Seiichi's but it was clear that there was some family resemblance between them.

"Are you Seiichi-nii-chan's girlfriend?" Minoru asked tilting his head as he stepped away from Seiichi and stared up at her.

Hari hoped she wasn't blushing.

"No," she said.

"Hm," Minoru gave her a look that clearly said he didn't believe her. "You don't attend school with Seiichi-nii-chan or Genichiro-nii-chan because then Seiichi-nii-chan wouldn't have almost introduced you to him."

"Very observant of you," Hari said.

"Seiichi-nii-chan says so too," Minoru nodded proudly and Seiichi smiled fondly at the boy and ruffled his hair. "Don't do that."

"Why?"

"Because I'm too old for that," Minoru said. "I'm only four years younger than you!"

"Oh," Seiichi smiled gently. "Well, if that's the case…"

Hari smiled watching them but looked up when she felt eyes watching her and found Sanada watching her curiously.

"Nice to meet you again," Hari said.

He nodded and she started to wonder if he ever talked.

"You too," he said as if he had heard her and she smiled.

"Seiichi-nii-chan! Tanomu! Tanomu!" Minoru jumped up and down as he looked pleadingly at his cousin.

Hari arched a brow wondering what she was missing now.

"I'm hungry," Minoru said. "Can't we go and eat something? Genichiro-nii-chan said we had to wait until we got to see you!"

Seiichi sighed and looked at Sanada who had his impassive mask on.

"Did he now?" Seiichi said. "Alright."

"Yatta!" Minoru cheered.

"Looks like you didn't need to be saved from boredom after all, Sei-chan," Hari smiled.

Seiichi stilled for a moment and his violet-blue eyes locked on her making her arch a brow as he seemed to stare at her for a long moment. He didn't move until Sanada coughed lightly and Seiichi jolted slightly as he blinked and straightened up more.

"Gomen. I didn't know they were coming," he said.

Was he blushing?

"That's alright," Hari smiled. "I'll leave you to it…"

"No," Seiichi said and Hari blinked at him. "No, I meant do you want to join us?"

Hari looked at Minoru and Sanada who both were staring at them. Minoru looked confused but Hari must admit that he did look rather adorable. Sanada looked more curious than confused and pensive as he watched Seiichi more than her.

"If your friend and cousin don't mind?" Hari said.

"We don't!" Minoru beamed at her. "But… can we eat now?"

Hari chuckled and looked back at Seiichi who smiled slightly but had looked away from her now and back at his cousin leaving Hari to wonder what had just occurred between them and why he had frozen when she…oh. She had called him by a nickname. She often gave people around her nicknames…maybe he didn't like it?

Minoru talked and talked as they ate at a small burger place just around the corner from the hospital. Seiichi answered and talked with his cousin while Hari and Sanada both seemed content to observe the two. Though, Hari had a feeling Sanada observed her just as much as the other two.

In the end Hari was dragged into the conversation as well and much to her surprise realised that she was having fun and felt lighter than she had in days if not weeks.

 **...**

 **...**

 **AN:** **The new chapter is finally done! It took forever to write... what do you think? :)**

 **I found on PoT Wikia that the disease Seiichi has is something called Guillain-Barre Syndrom. I don't know anything about it and did some research on it, but not a lot. So if any of the information in this chapter (or later chapters) is wrong I apologize for that. I'll try to keep it as close to the truth as I can, but I know very little about the recovery process of the disease and therefore will make changes so it fits this story.**

 **I know that Seiichi has the surgery later in the anime/manga, but I made a decision to change it. He will now be in recovery but still has to go to the hospital from time to time, so he'll be in Tokyo at times. I haven't decided yet if he'll be fit to play the first time Seigaku will meet Rikkaidai or not, but that is a long way away anyway so nothing to worry about right now.**

 **The character Minoru is a cameo by .Minna.-Sophia Isobel! Thanks for supporting this story and hope you liked the character you inspired ;)**

 **Thank you to everyone who has left a review! I appreciate them all! :)**

 **Japanese words used:**  
 **Daijobu - all right**  
 **Okaeri - Welcome back!**  
 **Tadaima - I'm home**  
 **Nani mo - nothing**  
 **Hai - yes**  
 **Nande - Why**  
 **Dou - How**  
 **Konnichiwa - Hello**  
 **Why - Nande**  
 **Sempai - upperclassman**  
 **Saa - filler**  
 **Ie - no**  
 **Tanomu - Please**  
 **Yatta - Yey**  
 **Gomen - Sorry**


	19. Brothers

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or the Prince of Tennis!**

 **...**

 **...**

Hari jumped up the steps that led from the path along the river and up to the street. She had counted and found that it totalled in 54 steps. She jumped another step and another trying not to think about how many she had left.

"Motto hayaku!"

"Slave driver!" Hari gasped out as she finally reached the top and sank down so she was seated on the top step and stared down at Fuji who was just smirking up at her. She leaned forward trying to catch her breath.

"Come on, Hari-chan," Fuji smiled. "I know you have more than that!"

Hari gave him a tired glare but got to her feet again and jogged down the steps and turned around before starting to jump up once more. She gritted her teeth as she jumped and ignored the way her legs felt like they were turning into jelly.

One more.

Again.

Just…one more.

She reached the top and collapsed on her back and stared up at the blue sky with white clouds drifting by as her breaths came out harshly and her heart thundered in her chest. She barely noticed that Fuji was now coming up besides he and sat down as well.

"You really shouldn't lie down like this here," he told her. "You might be trodden on."

"Damare," she mumbled and he laughed.

They sat/lay in silence for a while and Hari wondered just why she was bothering with this before she remembered it was all because she was working on her new move.

"You're stamina and jumping abilities are getting better," Fuji commented.

"You think so?" Hari asked glancing over at him before looking back at the sky.

"Of course," Fuji smiled. "So, let's go back to the court and we'll start training on your jump as you try to hit the tennis ball."

Hari nodded and pushed herself up and followed Fuji back down and made their way toward the court they normally used when they were practising her new move together.

...

"Who are you?" A boy asked and Hari looked around to see a boy with short brown hair staring at her with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Rude," Hari said and turned her back at him to continue with her work.

She was alone for now because Fuji had to go and fix something but he would be back soon. She ignored the stares she felt on her back as she hit yet another ball over the net and grimaced as she didn't hit it correctly.

"I asked you who you are?" the boy demanded and stepped onto the court, "and what are you doing here?!"

Hari sighed as she lowered her racket and turned to face the boy. He was glaring at her and she arched a brow at him.

"You know it's a public court, right?" she asked him. "Also, it's only polite to introduce yourself first before you demand a name from someone you've never met."

"Pfft," he scoffed. "Whatever. I need the court, so please leave."

His tone was mocking and she sighed.

"Ie," she said. "I don't feel like it."

She glanced over at him and saw the rebellious look in his eyes and the glare he continued to level at her.

"You know, it's room for more than one," she said. "I don't mind if you use the other half."

"Well, I do mind," the boy growled. "So, leave."

"Ie," Hari said simply.

"Yuta?" Fuji's voice sounded and Hari looked to the side to see her friend had returned and was staring at the boy, Yuta?, with a stunned look and actually opened eyes.

Hari looked at Yuta and saw that he had frozen for a moment before he glared hatefully at Fuji and spun around before running off the court.

...

"You know him?" Hari asked when the silence stretched. She watched Fuji with concern as she was worried about how silent he was.

Fuji stared after the other boy even after he was out of sight before he sighed and looked tired.

"He's my little brother," Fuji finally said.

Hari hid her surprise as she looked at Fuji and noticed the tension in his shoulders and the way his jaw was clenched. He also looked sad and pensive at the same time.

"Let's continue," Fuji said as he shook himself and seemingly returned to his normal self. Hari gave him a last look before she nodded.

"Alright," she said.

She wasn't going to ask even if she felt curious about their relationship. She could remember the way Yuta looked at Fuji, it was filled with contempt and pain, and Fuji…she had never seen that tired expression on his face before.

Hari just went back to what she was doing and smiled when Fuji joined her.

They had finished and Hari was putting her racket back into the bag and was zipping it up when she heard a sigh and looked over at Fuji to find him seated on the bench leaned back and staring up at the sky.

"You okay, Shu-chan?" she asked.

He blinked and turned blue eyes to her and gave her a questioning look.

"Shu-chan?" he asked.

"Why not?" she grinned, "you don't like it?"

He laughed and shrugged.

"I guess you can call me that," he said before looking back at the sky.

"So?" Hari sat down beside him and looked up at the sky herself as she waited for him to say something.

"I'm alright, Hari-chan," Fuji said. "I was just thinking about my brother."

Hari nodded.

"I haven't really seen him in a while," Fuji confessed.

Hari frowned but didn't say anything and just let Fuji decide what to say.

"He used to be a cry-baby and weak," Fuji recollected. "And he would follow me around everywhere and try to do everything I did. He picked up tennis when I did and we used to come here and play together."

Hari glanced over at him from the corner of her eye and saw the nostalgic look on his face.

"But…as we grew older he got more and more angry and hostile," Fuji sighed. "I know it was my fault."

Hari frowned but still kept silent as she let him speak.

"Everyone started to compare him to me and expect that he had the same talent in tennis," Fuji said, "and he hated it. He used to attend Seigaku, but he quit when he couldn't get out of my shadow. I tried to help, but everything just made it worse."

He sighed and a shadow crossed over his face as he clearly remembered something painful. Hari was surprised by what she heard and felt sorry for both Fuji and his brother, but she also understood. She had seen this before, after all. Ron and his insecurities toward his older brothers was a perfect example of how Yuta must feel.

"I really don't know what to do," Fuji admitted.

...

Fuji wasn't sure why he was speaking. He was telling himself in his mind that he should shut up and to stop because Hari didn't deserve to be pulled into his family drama, but he couldn't stop the words.

It might be because she didn't say anything and only looked understanding and concerned without any trace of pity on her face.

Or maybe it was just because she was there and had seen Yuta and he was thrown off by suddenly seeing his little brother at the court where they used to play tennis together before everything changed between them. He hadn't expected to see him now and to be honest; he hadn't expected him to come back to this court at all. Why had he come here?

"He needs to work it out himself," Hari suddenly said and Fuji looked at her. She met his eyes and smiled slightly. "Having a brother who is seen as 'better', 'stronger, and a 'genius' is difficult. It's not your fault and he will realise that one day, Shu-chan."

Fuji blinked.

"You seem to know what you're talking about," he commented after a while.

She got a sad smile on her face as she turned her face away from him and looked back up at the blue sky and he could see the profile of her face.

"One of my best friends back in Britain has five older brothers and one younger sister," Hari said. "He feels insecure because his older brothers are all successful in their own ways and he always feels like he has to prove to be just as good as them. Not to mention that his younger sister is the first girl in the family in seven generations and gets a lot of attention because of that." Not to mention being the best friend of the Girl-Who-Lived and being in her shadow as well… well, Ron had it tough.

Fuji blinked. Again. Hari always managed to throw him off with what she said and did, every time he thought he had her figured out she did or said something that had him guessing again. He wasn't used to it.

"I…see," he finally said.

"You is you and Yuta is Yuta," Hari shrugged and got up. "That's all that matter and he'll see that one day, I'm sure."

Fuji smiled and nodded.

"I hope you're right," he said.

"Of course I am, Shu-chan," Hari grinned. "Are you ready for the tournament soon?"

"Saa," Fuji smiled with his eyes closed and Hari rolled her eyes. That was the Fuji she knew.

...

When Hari was back in her room she wondered about the Fuji she had gotten to see today. He had not been his usual self, but he clearly felt bad for how his brother was treated because of him. She had a feeling that Fuji never really talked about it to anyone and was glad he had opened up to her.

After all the help he had given her with her practice she was happy to offer some sort of help back, at least she hoped that it helped him to talk about it.

She frowned as she stared down at the picture she had of Ron playing around with Fred and George over Christmas in the empty common room. Yuta really was a lot like Ron in many ways, only Ron wasn't bitter and angry. At least not anymore.

People were cruel and judgmental. She hated how they expected someone to be like someone else just because they were family. Like how Yuta had to be just like Fuji just because he was his little brother. Idiots. They couldn't see that they were separate persons.

It wasn't just Ron and his brothers she saw in Yuta and Fuji. She saw herself as well. Actually, she could easily picture herself in both of them. People expected her to be like her parents all the time, a prankster and troublemaker like James, smart and fierce like Lily. It was tough to be faced with those expectations all the time. But she could understand Fuji as well, because she had heard people talk back at Hogwarts about how Ron and Hermione was her best friend and that they must be just like her and had to live up to that.

She hated it.

...

"Hari!" Ryoma scowled at her and had his arms crossed over his chest. She had just arrived home from school seeing there was no practice today and Ryoma had already been gone when she left the school.

"Ryo-chan?" Hari blinked at him.

"Where have you been this last week?" Ryoma asked. "You've been disappearing a lot lately!"

"Just been practising tennis," Hari said.

She looked at him and saw what was bothering him as she noticed the way he pouted even as he scowled and glared at her. She smiled slightly and threw an arm over his shoulder.

"Want to play a match against me?" she asked.

He relaxed and nodded.

"Daijobu," he said.

"Just let me change and put my bag away," she said and jogged up the stairs.

He was waiting for her when she got back downstairs and they left the house together and made their way to the shrine and the court there. Nanjiro had already left for the day so they had the place for themselves.

They started their match automatically and without needing to say anything. Hari smiled as she fell into the familiarity of playing against Ryoma like this. Neither went all out at first just content to rally the ball back and forth.

Her mind couldn't help but drift over to Fuji and Yuta. They should share tennis like this as well as they used to do. She remembered the angry voice that Yuta had used while talking to her before Fuji showed up. He had really wanted to use that court, she thought.

 _I wonder why,_ she mused.

For him to come back to it even with the history it had, and even claim it when it was occupied must mean something. She remembered Fuji's tired eyes and how resigned he had looked over the fact that his brother had purposely distanced himself from him. But Yuta couldn't be that far off when he returned like that…

"Ready to step it up, Ryo-chan?" Hari called over.

"You bet!" Ryoma smirked and she couldn't help but smirk back.

The match intensified and Hari grinned as she rushed after a ball that tried to sneak past her. She jumped and stretched her racket out feeling it connecting and hit it back toward the net. In a fluent movement, she rolled over and got to her feet so she was ready when he returned the ball again.

"Nice move," Ryoma said.

"Arigatou," Hari smiled.

Hari managed to return another one and grimaced as he returned it easily and this time it slipped past her.

"Next one is mine!" She said.

"Good luck with that," he smirked.

She rolled her eyes.

...

Hari sighed as she shook her head at Momoshiro who was eating (again) behind his book that he had popped up to hide from the teacher who was standing at the front lecturing and pointing at the blackboard.

Honestly, he was such a glutton. So like Ron…

"Oi! MOMOSHIRO!"

The yell startled everyone as the teacher had noticed Momoshiro eating and threw a book at the boy who looked up guiltily.

"…sorry?" He chuckled sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head.

Hari chuckled before taking on a blank look when the teacher looked toward her having heard the chuckle.

"Pay attention in class," the teacher snapped.

"Hai," Momoshiro sighed.

Hari glanced at him and smiled slightly as she continued to take notes. At least with Momoshiro in the class, it wasn't boring.

...

Lunch happened and Hari was about to get up when Hira and Sora came toward her.

"Hey guys," Hari smiled. "Doshita?"

"It's been ages since you've had lunch with us," Sora said.

"Ah," Hari nodded. "Then, maybe you would like to join me now?"

They nodded and smiled as they followed her out of the classroom. Hari noticed that Kaido was staying and had a bento already on the desk in front of him.

"Hey Ka-chan!" She yelled as she popped her head into the classroom again.

"Hai?" he looked up at her.

"Do you want to come with us?" Hari asked.

He shook his head, "no thanks."

Hari gave him a look before she shrugged.

"Daijobu," she said. "See you later, then!"

He nodded and waved.

"I can't believe you're that casual with him," Sora said after a moment.

Hari glanced at her.

"Why?" Hari asked.

"He's…so scary," Sora admitted.

"Nah," Hari denied. "He's not. He's just misunderstood. Ka-chan is really sweet."

Hira snorted and Hari narrowed her eyes at him. He held up his hands.

"Just found it funny that you called him sweet," Hira said.

Hari huffed and looked away but before she could say anything someone collided with her and she had to take a step back to avoid falling. She glanced around and found Tomoka sitting on the floor and rubbed her head.

"Are you alright, Tomoka-chan?" Hari asked concerned reaching out to help the younger girl to her feet.

"I'm fine," Tomoka said and smiled slightly. "I'm sorry, Hari-chan!"

"Are you sure?" Sakuno asked her friend stepping up to them.

"Yeah," Tomoka nodded.

"Saa, no problem;" Hari smiled and blinked. She might have spent too much time with Fuji if she was starting to use his favourite word.

"Where are you going in such a hurry?" she asked.

"We're going to find Ryoma-sama!" Tomoka beamed. "Sakuno has baked a cake and we're going to ask if Ryoma-sama wants some!"

Hari blinked bemusedly at the two younger girls and noticed that Sakuno blushed and was refusing to meet her eyes. How cute.

"And look at this!" Tomoka said and held up a large plaque with a picture of Ryoma and his name written on it and some cheers. "I've made it for the tournament tomorrow!"

"That's really nice of you," Hari smiled at the girl who just beamed back. Hari couldn't help but admire the dedication the two girls' showed in supporting Ryoma even if the boy didn't really notice. "You should go before lunch is over."

Tomoka nodded and waved while Sakuno gave her a shy smile and hurried after her friend.

"…that was…." Sora stared after them with a wide-eyed look but she didn't continue as she seemed lost for words.

...

Hari stretched as she started to put her books back in her bag at the end of the last lesson and waved at Sora and Hira who already was about to leave the classroom but stopped when Ryoma burst through the door making them take a step back to avoid colliding with him.

"Ryo-chan?" Hari asked as she put her bag over her shoulder and noticed Momoshiro and Kaido pause as well.

"I need to talk to you, Hari," Ryoma said ignoring everyone else.

"Sure," Hari said feeling confused and worried. She wasn't sure what had him coming to find her when they would have met at the tennis court soon anyway.

She followed Ryoma out of the classroom after telling Momoshiro and Kaido that she would meet them at the court.

"What's wrong, Ryo-chan?" Hari asked when they were by themselves.

"Karupin is at the school," Ryoma said and Hari arched a brow.

"He is?"

"I saw him," Ryoma said, "and then someone said they saw a cat (or they called him a racoon) at the roof but when I got there he was gone and…"

Hari had not really seen this frantic and worried side of Ryoma before and she couldn't help but pull him into a hug and felt how tense he was until he relaxed and allowed her to calm him down.

"We'll find him," Hari said. "I'll help you look, alright?"

Ryoma nodded and Hari pulled away.

"First you will go and check the tennis courts and if he's not there you'll ask Momo-chan if you can borrow his bike and go home to see if Karupin has gone back on his own," Hari told Ryoma who nodded quietly. "I will look through the school and the area around, alright?"

Again he nodded. Hari took his hand and squeezed it in comfort.

"We'll find him;" she promised again.

...

Hari walked through the school looking for the Himalayan cat but no luck. She looked in every classroom and every corner she could think of before she came to the conclusion that Karupin was not inside the school.

She walked outside and saw that the practice seemed to have started but she turned away from the courts and walked toward the opposite side of the schoolyard. She knew how much Karupin meant to Ryoma and she would help him find his cat.

She looked and looked and even jumped the wall to see if he had left the school. She wandered the streets and called for Karupin but no cat came and she was wondering if perhaps the cat had made his way home by himself.

She sighed as she stopped and looked around.

Of course.

She raised a hand and rubbed the back of her head as she looked around at the unfamiliar buildings and sighed.

"Baka," she muttered to herself. "Of course, I'm lost. Again."

She had no idea what direction she had come from or even how far she was from the school. She shook her head and started to walk down a street and hoped that she would recognise something.

Seriously how hard could it be to find Seigaku again? Or even just a street she recognised and find her way home from there?

Apparently it could be very hard because thirty minutes later she was still lost and walking through streets she had no idea where was, she was sure she had walked in a circle a couple of times but that didn't really help her.

She blinked when the sound of the phone interrupted her walking and she pulled it out and answered without checking on how it was from.

"Hello?"

" _Hari-chan,"_ A familiar soft voice greeted.

"Ah, Sei-chan," Hari smiled recognising the voice. "How are you? Back home, right?"

" _Hai,"_ he said, " _I just left school and overseeing the tennis practice."_

She knew he wasn't allowed to play yet and had until now also stayed away from the practice, but she had talked him into trying to just take part in what he could.

"And?" she pressed.

" _It went fine,"_ he said. " _I really wanted to play, but it was great seeing the team again and being with them even if I had to just watch."_

"That's good," Hari smiled. "I told you that you might like it."

" _I know,"_ she could hear him smile. " _So, am I interrupting your practice?"_

"Nah," Hari said. "I didn't go to practice today."

She explained her mission to find Karupin and ended with, "…and now I'm lost."

He was silent for a moment before he sighed.

" _I have a feeling that this is a recurring thing with you, Hari-chan,"_ he said.

"It's not!" Hari protested before she paused, "well, I don't do it on purpose."

" _Of course you don't,"_ he sighed. "… _you do realise that you are talking to me on your phone, right?"_

"Well, yeah," Hari rolled her eyes. "I think I realise that. Why?"

" _And that means that you have a phone and could have called your brother or someone to help you find your way back, right?"_ he said.

Hari paused in her walk and gaped.

Oh.

"…I forgot," she said.

" _Hari-chan…"_ he sighed. " _You sure make me worry."_

She blushed and wondered why her heart suddenly felt like it was beating so hard in her chest. Had she walked faster than she had realised? Maybe she was getting tired?

"Well, I…um," she stuttered slightly. "Fine. I will call someone when I've finished talking to you, ok?"

" _Good,"_ he said.

She suddenly heard the sound of a ball hitting the pavement and paused as she looked to her left and saw a large staircase made of stone and the sound was coming from the top. She let her curiosity win and started to walk up the stairs even as she continued talking with Seiichi.

She paused when she reached the top and saw that there was a tennis court there not that different from the street court where she had first met An. Thinking about An reminded her that she should see her soon…

She trailed off in her conversation with Seiichi as she recognized the boy who was playing tennis by himself. It was Yuta.

" _Hari-chan?"_ Seiichi's voice brought her back.

"Ah, sorry, Sei-chan," Hari said. "I have to go, but we'll talk later?"

" _Alright,"_ he said, " _let me know when you get home."_

"Fine," Hari rolled her eyes but smiled slightly.

...

Hari sat down on the bench and watched Yuta who had yet to notice her. She knew she should let him know she was there, but she wanted to get a feeling of him before she talked to him. She was very aware that she had told Fuji to give his younger brother time and not pressure him so she should just go back down and pretend that she hadn't seen him.

But she couldn't do that. Her curiosity and concern for Fuji had her staying and observing the boy who was the same age as her. He had a more open expression on his face now and even smiled once as he managed a move he had been practising.

Suddenly he stopped and spun around so he saw her and he immediately scowled at her.

"What are you doing here?!" He demanded stomping over to her and glared. "Are you spying one me?! Did he send you here to spy?!"

Hari snorted and he blinked.

"Why would I spy on you?" Hari arched a brow.

"You…." He started but stopped before narrowing his eyes as he stared at her. "Then what are you doing here?"

Hari shrugged and stood up as she looked around.

"I got lost," she grimaced.

"Lost?" he echoed.

"Yup," she nodded seriously before sighing. "I don't even know how I managed it this time… But it was Karupin's fault."

He had lost the glare as he just stared at her in confusion.

"Karupin?"

"My little brother's cat," Hari nodded, "he followed Ryo-chan to school today and I promised to help look for him and…well, here I am and it's clearly Karupin's fault."

She noticed that Yuta looked at her with a look that clearly questioned her sanity but at least he had lost his hostility.

"Then go on and get lost," he suddenly snapped.

…and found it again. She sighed.

"Ie," she said.

"What?" He glared.

"I said; no," she repeated calmly. "I don't think so."

"I was here first," Yuta said. "And you're friends with him so you will spy on me and I will lose my chance on beating him."

Hari titled her head curiously as she watched him.

"Stop looking at me like that!" He demanded.

"Like what?" Hari asked innocently.

"Like…like…" he seemed unable to find words and she smiled.

"Well," she said, "I was just thinking that you're a good tennis player."

He frowned and looked at her warily.

"But not as good as my brother, right?" he seemed unable to keep the question in and there was a bitter note in his voice.

Hari arched a brow.

"I never said that," she said quietly.

"But you thought it," Yuta accused and turned his back to her and took a couple of steps away from her.

"You don't know what I thought so I would ask that you don't assume anything," Hari said her voice slightly cold and he stopped walking. "I didn't think that either, by the way."

He didn't turn to face her but she could tell he was waiting for her to say something.

"Well," she smiled her voice returning to normal. "I will look forward to seeing you play and I can tell that you really love tennis. I'm really interested in your style."

"My style?" he turned and she saw the wary yet curious look on his face.

"Yeah, I like it," Hari smiled. "I hope I'll get to play you one day, Yuta-san."

He stared at her in silence for a long moment and didn't seem to know if he should believe her or not. She just smiled at him.

"You want to play me?" he finally asked.

"Yeah, I would like that," Hari nodded.

He scoffed and folded his arms over his chest as he looked away from her and a blush covered his cheeks.

"It won't be like playing nii-san," he said.

"I don't expect it to be like playing Shu-chan," Hari said before glancing at the clock. "Ouch. I have to go… um, could you direct me in the direction of Seigaku?"

He stared at her and then scoffed again but she had a feeling that he was just hiding behind his gruff exterior and wasn't actually that angry right now.

"That way," he said and nodded in the opposite direction of where she had been headed. "Just keep straight and you should find it."

Hari nodded.

"Alright," she smiled and waved. "See you later, Yuta-san!"

He huffed and turned away from her.

"Oi!"

She turned around as she was halfway down the stairs and looked up to see him standing at the top looking down at her.

"What?" she asked.

"Namae nante iu no?" he said a blush colouring his cheeks.

"Echizen Hari," Hari grinned and waved.

...

Hari finally found her way back to Seigaku and wasn't surprised when she found it empty. She sighed and made her way back home hoping that Karupin had turned up because she knew Ryoma would be upset if not.

"Hari!" Ryoma called when she entered the house and she looked up to see him entering the hallway from the living room. "Karupin is back!"

"That's great," Hari smiled.

"Where were you?" Ryoma asked.

"Well…" Hari looked away.

"You got lost again, didn't you?" he sighed.

"Maybe," she admitted and he sighed.

"Of course you did," he said.

"Hey! This time it's Karupin's fault!" Hari defended herself.

Ryoma just gave her his best-deadpanned look and she huffed.

 **...**

 **...**

 **AN:** **Finally a new chapter! I'm really sorry for the delay on this update! I will try not to let it be this long between updates again, but I can't promise anything...**

 **So, what do you think? Fuji might seem out of character but I just thought it would be nice if he had someone to confide in and Hari is a good listener. They've spent time together as Fuji is helping Hari with a new move and I think their friendship has grown from there... Hope you liked it.**

 **Next chapter should involve Atobe again and maybe a little peek at how Ron and Hermione are doing. XD**

 **Thank you so much for your patience and support!**

 **Japanese words used:**  
 **Motto hayaku - Faster**  
 **Damare - Shut up**  
 **Ie - No**  
 **Saa - Filler**  
 **Daijobu - Alright**  
 **Arigatou - Thank you**  
 **Doshita - What's up?**  
 **Hai - Yes**  
 **Baka - Idiot**  
 **Nii-san - Older brother**  
 **Namae nante iu no - What's your name?**


	20. The start of the Tokyo preliminaries

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Prince of Tennis!**

 **...**

 **...**

"I don't know," Hari said again when asked where Ryoma was. "I left early today because I had to stop by a place before I came here."

It was true. She had to drop some of her homework for her magic lessons off with her mentor Hisakawa at a small office downtown before arriving at the courts that held the Tokyo Prefecture matches this year.

"Arhg!" Horio yelled.

"What a day to be late!"

Hari rubbed the back of her neck as she took in the anxious expressions of those around her and even Inoue and Shiba looked nervous. She did feel a little worried as well. She really hoped that Ryoma was alright and that nothing had happened to him.

"I'll call home and see if he's still there," Hari said and walked away from them to make the call.

She waited for someone to answer the phone and ignored the crowd around her as she did.

" _Hello?"_ Nanako answered the phone.

"Nanako-san," Hari greeted. "Is Ryo-chan still home?"

" _Hari-chan?"_ Nanako asked. " _Oh, um, he just ran out of here in a hurry. He barely looked dressed…"_

Hari could hear the worry in her voice and sighed.

"So he overslept," Hari grumbled.

" _He did?"_ Nanako asked. " _Well, he's on his way…"_

"Yeah," Hari said. "Thank you, Nanako-san. Talk to you later."

" _Of course,"_ Nanako said. " _Bye, Hari-san."_

Hari hung up and sighed as she rubbed her eyes tiredly. Maybe she should have dragged him with her when she left. Seriously…

"Baka," she grumbled just as she turned on her heel to walk back to her team and let them know but she walked straight into a solid mass and stumbled back and fell to the ground with an undignified yelp.

"Itee," she muttered as she looked up to see what she had walked into this time. She blinked.

"Oh, this seems familiar," a laughing voice said and Hari glanced to the side to see Kamio laugh as he watched her.

"You're in my way again," Hari grumbled as she got to her feet and glared at Ibu who glared back at her.

"It's not my fault that you don't watch where you're going," Ibu said. "I was just walking and I can't be blamed when you just walk straight into me and fall down. You should have learned from last time…"

"Ibu," Tachibana sighed and Ibu shut up. "Are you alright, Hari-san?"

Hari smiled at him and rubbed her forehead sheepishly.

"I'm fine, Tachibana-kun," she said. "I guess it was my fault this time."

"That's good," Tachibana nodded.

"Hari-chan!" An suddenly joined them and ran over to her and hugged her. Hari stiffened for a moment before she hugged the other girl back and smiled.

"Hey, An-chan," Hari smiled.

"Why aren't you with your team this time, Hari-chan?" An asked when she let go of Hari. "Are you lost again?"

"What?! No, of course not!" Hari protested indignantly. "I was just calling home because Ryo-chan is late."

An gave her a suspicious look but let it go and rolled her eyes at the last part.

"He really is your brother, Hari-chan," An sighed exasperatedly.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Hari frowned at her. "Of course he's my brother, but that's no reason to say it like that."

An just laughed as Hari pouted much to the amusement of the rest of Fudomine who were watching them.

"So, you have been busy lately," An said.

"I guess," Hari shrugged, "I was thinking on calling you soon, though."

"We should get together soon," An nodded. "I want to hear about your latest adventure of getting lost."

"Whatever," Hari mumbled feeling a blush rising in her cheeks and looked away from An who was looking way too amused. "I have to go and find the others. Good luck with your matches today!"

"Bye," An and some of the others said and Tachibana nodded at her.

"Don't get lost now!"

...

Hari frowned as she looked around the crowd and wondered where the others had gone because they weren't at the place she had left them. She sighed as she took to the right and hoped she would find them that way. She really hadn't thought about how large this place was.

"Oi!" She blinked and looked to the side to see Yuta staring at her.

"Oh, Yuta-kun," she said. "I didn't see you there."

He frowned at her.

"What are you doing walking around like that?" Yuta asked.

"Why? Can't I?" she blinked at him.

"You're lost again," he accused.

"Of course I'm not lost!" Hari said wondering why everyone always assumed that even someone who she had only met twice before! "The others just moved and didn't tell me where!"

"Right," he said in a voice that clearly said he didn't believe her.

She huffed. "What do you want, Yuta-kun?"

"Nothing," he looked away and she noticed the uncomfortable look on his face.

"Hm," she hummed. "You're playing us today, aren't you?"

He looked at her again.

"I bet you wish to play Shu-chan," Hari continued.

"I'll beat him!" Yuta declared.

"I see," Hari nodded. "I look forward to seeing you play!"

She waved and started to walk again.

...

"Where did Hari disappear to, nya?" Kikumaru looked around.

The others looked around as well and sighed as one.

"We should have followed her," Momoshiro groaned.

"What are we going to do, Tezuka-Captain?!" Horio exclaimed.

Tezuka just sighed and just then a buzzing sound sounded and everyone turned toward Fuji who pulled out his phone. He smiled.

"She says Echizen is on his way and that we should register without him," he said, "maybe have Horio pretend to be Echizen or something because they're almost the same size. And…"

"And?" Kaido asked gruffly.

"And…we have to stop moving around because she can't find us," Fuji smiled.

They stared at him.

"That girl!" Momoshiro suddenly yelled. "She's lost again!"

Inui scribbled in his notebook muttering about data and shaking his head as he listed the probabilities of her finding them on her own.

"I guess we should do as she says," Ryuzaki said and looked at Horio who blinked and suddenly looked very nervous. "Kaido, lend him your jersey!"

She tossed him a cap and Kaido reluctantly gave his jacket for Horio to put over his t-shirt. He looked like he was swimming in it but they had no other choice.

"I will get Echizen for this," Horio swore as he followed the regulars feeling very nervous.

"Good plan, though," Kikumaru commented as he glanced over at Horio who was looking rather pale.

"Yes," Oishi nodded. "Well, we should get the register matter done soon."

...

"He didn't need to make the jacket so dirty, though," Horio was saying dejectedly. "It was Kaido-sempai's!"

Hari glanced at the dejected boy who held up the blue and white jacket that looked rather filthy.

"What did you do to it?" Hari asked curiously making Horio and the other freshmen jump and spin around to stare at her.

"Hari-chan!" they all yelled. "You found us again!"

"You all kept moving around," Hari muttered. "It's not my fault."

"It is!" Horio yelled.

Hari pouted.

"Well," she said and looked at Horio. "What did you do to the jacket? Is it Ka-chan's?"

"Hai," Horio said miserably. "Echizen had to go and get it dirty…"

"Oooo," Hari tilted her head and smiled slightly. "Give it here."

"Eh?" Horio looked at her.

"I'll help you," she smiled. "Give it to me and I'll fix it."

"Really?" Horio asked hopefully.

"Sure," Hari nodded and took the jacket.

She walked to the bathroom and noticed that the freshmen followed but they waited outside. She was pleased with that. She looked around and saw that there was no one inside the bathroom and quickly pulled out her wand.

So, okay, she wasn't really supposed to do magic outside like this. But, the Japanese Ministry of Magic had granted her permission to use magic outside of school and had removed the trace from her wand. Mostly because she needed to be able to use her magic when she did her magical homework.

"Scourgify!" she said with her wand pointed at the jacket.

The jacket quickly turned back to the clear white and blue colour and held no trace of the dirt that had been on it. She smiled. She was very pleased that she had learned that charm.

She walked outside again and presented the jacket to Horio who stared at it wide-eyed.

"How…?" he started.

"Himitsu," she winked.

"Thank you!" he looked close to tears in his relief and she reached out and ruffled his hair as she would do to Ryoma.

"No problem," she said and started to walk. "Come on. We should find the others."

"You're going the wrong way," Tomoka yelled and Hari froze.

...

They found the rest and Hari had to endure teasing from Fuji about getting lost again and she glared at him but couldn't help but smile slightly as well. She noticed Ryoma standing by Momoshiro and was dressed in his tennis clothes so he looked ready for the match that was just about to start.

She stood at their sides and watched them all fly through the first round and everyone winning their match. She smiled and cheered with the others even as she noticed the dark-haired boy standing on the other side watching as well. She wasn't sure who he was but she could tell that Inui also noticed him.

...

Tezuka glanced at Fuji who was quiet and didn't really take part in any conversation that took place around them. He knew what was on his friend's mind. Fuji Yuta. They would be playing his team next and Tezuka knew it would be a difficult team to meet, he had heard Inui's reasons and worries about the team manager.

A groan followed by laughter had Tezuka look to see Ryoma being locked in a headlock by Hari who ruffled his hair and in the process made the white cap Ryoma normally wore fall to the ground. Not surprising it was Momoshiro and Kikumaru who laughed at the younger boy's misfortune.

"Hari!" Ryoma complained trying to get free from his sisters hold. "Let me go."

"Ie," Hari refused. "You won your match! Congratulation, ototo!"

"Why do I have to be the youngest one," Ryoma complained and Hari laughed.

Tezuka felt a smile twitch on his lips but he soon pushed it back as he watched. He noticed that Fuji also watched and smiled slightly if not a little sadly.

"Take the complaint to Nanjiro and Rinko," Hari quipped. "But I don't think it'll help. You're my cute little brother."

"I'm not cute," Ryoma protested.

"Yes, you are," Hari said.

"No, I'm not," Ryoma said.

"Yes, you are," Hari said again and Tezuka sighed.

The atmosphere in the team was better as they watched the two siblings and Tezuka wondered just how strong Hari was to keep Ryoma from escaping her hold or maybe Ryoma wasn't trying all that hard.

As he watched he was reminded that he had to watch Hari play again soon. He had a feeling that she had taken large steps in the right direction in her play. He noticed how she had held back during practice and that she seemed to be closer to Fuji lately.

"You've been spending time with Hari-san lately, Fuji," Tezuka said and Fuji glanced at him.

"Hai," Fuji nodded. "She's becoming a good friend."

Tezuka glanced at him and nodded thoughtfully. He looked over at them again and noticed that Ryoma had gotten free and was now chasing Hari who laughed freely a sound that was contagious and spread happiness in those who heard it. Even if Tezuka never would admit it out loud.

"Well, well," someone spoke up and Tezuka suddenly noticed that Atobe Keigo had walked up to them and was watching Hari and Ryoma with something in his onyx eyes that looked like jealousy, but Tezuka was not sure because it was gone as quickly as it came. "What a happy scene, Hari-chan."

Tezuka noticed the familiar way he addressed Hari, but most addressed her by her first name so it didn't necessarily mean anything. He did notice that Ryoma tensed and immediately glared at Keigo who only looked at Hari now.

"Keigo," Hari smiled slightly as she waved at him.

Tezuka wasn't the only one surprised by the use of his first name if the looks the others exchanged was anything to go by. He looked closer at Hari and then over at Keigo. He remembered, of course, he did, when Keigo had come to Seigaku a little while ago and had talked to Hari. He never knew what they talked about and Hari never said anything about it to anyone. At least not that he knew off.

"I had forgotten that you would be here as well," Hari said.

"I'm the Great Atobe Keigo!" Keigo said dramatically, "of course I'm here!"

Tezuka felt like rolling his eyes but refrained but he did notice that Momoshiro and Kikumaru snorted quietly at the dramatics of Keigo and Hari actually did roll her eyes and muttered something that sounded like: " _just like Malfoy"_ under her breath.

"Yeah, yeah," Hari waved her hand. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to get you," Keigo declared. "So, come!"

Tezuka arched a brow as he took in the order and was not sure he liked it. Hari didn't move, though but that might be because Ryoma placed himself in front of her and glared at Keigo.

"Don't order Hari-chan around!" Momoshiro yelled before Ryoma could say anything.

"Yeah! Hari-chan is our friend and you can't just come here and just take her, nya!" Kikumaru said.

Tezuka watched in silence as the two loudmouths protested and noticed that Kaido was also looking serious and was glaring at Keigo. Oishi looked more worried than angry, but that was typical Oishi. Kawamura looked curious and slightly amused as he watched, while Inui was, of course, scribbling in his notebook. Fuji was watching curiously but had a small frown on his face.

Keigo just arched a brow as he looked them over before his eyes landed on Ryoma who glared silently at him. Again there was that look in Keigo's eyes and Tezuka couldn't really understand why the two suddenly seemed to be in a glaring battle.

Suddenly Ryoma moved and Tezuka was about to move as well because he could tell that the younger boy was about to attack the Hyotei Captain, and Tezuka couldn't allow that, but Hari reacted before he could and grabbed Ryoma's arm and pulled him back.

They all tensed.

Tezuka frowned as he looked at Ryoma seriously as he was curious and worried about what caused the boy to react like this. He normally never moved to actually hit anyone, verbally insult them – yes. Hit them –no.

What was going on here?

"Ryo-chan, calm down," he heard Hari tell her little brother.

"Hn," Ryoma looked away and folded his arms over his chest.

"Keigo," Hari frowned and looked away from Ryoma. "Are you trying to start a fight?"

"Of course not," Keigo said coolly.

Hari sighed.

"Then maybe you should use the manners I know your parents installed in you and actually ask and not order," Hari said.

"I want to introduce you to my team," he said after a pause. "So, will you please come with me?"

Tezuka arched a brow in surprise and looked at Hari who was watching Keigo before she nodded.

"Captain, I will be back soon," she said and glanced at Tezuka.

"Hari," Ryoma frowned.

"Don't worry, Ryo-chan," Hari smiled at him. "I'll be back soon."

...

Ryoma scowled as he watched Hari walk away with Keigo and Kabaji chatting with them easily and he couldn't help the worry that she was slipping away.

"What was that?!" Momoshiro asked.

Ryoma just shrugged and crossed his arms over his chest and looked away. He didn't want to talk about it.

"I didn't know she was close to him," Kawamura commented questioningly.

"Me neither," Kikumaru frowned. "Ochibi-chan?"

Ryoma walked away without saying anything and sat down on a bench and stared at the ground looking like he was in deep thoughts.

"Perhaps its best if we do not talk about it," Oishi frowned.

"But Oishi…" Kikumaru whined.

"It's none of our business, Eiji," Oishi said firmly. "There's clearly something going on that we don't know."

Sakuno and Tomoka exchanged looks before they looked over at Ryoma. They had never seen him like this before. He seemed distracted and almost sad or worried, maybe, and just because Hari went to meet this Atobe Keigo's team. Why?

...

"Honestly, Keigo," Hari frowned at him. "You know they're going to be asking me a lot of questions now."

"So?" Keigo huffed.

"So it's going to be boring to have to answer them," Hari said.

"Then don't," Keigo shrugged. "Now, come on. My team is over here."

Hari sighed and followed him over to the group that was sitting around some picnic tables and chatting. She did notice that some of them were not in their training clothes and she frowned slightly as she took them in. Why would not all of them look like they would be playing tennis at all? What was Keigo thinking?

"Captain is here," a boy with long brown hair tied back said and he looked to be one of the few who had his team t-shirt on and looked ready to play.

"Who are you?" a boy with short dark red hair asked frowning at Hari.

Hari just tilted her head curiously as she stared back at him but she hid the nerves she felt at the fact that they all stared at her. She blinked at him.

"Who are you?" She asked. "It's polite, you know, to introduce yourself before demanding a name from someone you don't know."

They all stared at her shocked and Keigo sighed closing his eyes for a moment before he opened them again and his face was back at the normal confident look.

"Echizen Hari, meet my team," he said and listed their names in quick succession as he pointed them out for Hari who gave them curious looks but kept her face blank. "Team, meet Hari-chan."

Hari waved at them and noticed the way they seemed to be seizing her up, especially the one with longish blue hair and glasses. He seemed very calm and collected and she could instantly tell that he was the kind to analyse everything around him, Keigo had called him Oshitari Yushi.

The one who had asked or rather demanded to know who she was – was frowning at her and if she remembered correctly his name was Mukahi Gakuto or something like that. He seemed rather prickly if Hari was being honest.

Shishido Ryo with the long brown hair had looked away from her and seemed to be preparing his tennis equipment instead of paying her any attention and she found that she kind of approved of this. If only because it was one pair of eyes less that was watching her.

The other one she took notice of was the one with silvery-grey hair and kind smile that was looking the most welcoming of the group. Hari had to think for a moment to remember the name Keigo had used for him… oh, yeah, Otori Chotaro.

She glanced to the boy who was lying on his back sound asleep and had to admire the fact that he could sleep that peacefully at a place like this. His name was Akutagawa Jiro if Hari remembered correctly.

"Hello," Otori smiled. "Nice to meet you, Echizen-san."

"You too, Otori-san," she smiled shyly. "Also, just call me Hari. Most everyone does."

"Al-alright," he nodded and glanced at Keigo almost as if he was asking permission.

Keigo sat down and motioned for Hari to do the same. She sighed.

"So, how do you know our Captain?" Mukahi frowned with his arms crossed over his chest. "Are you his girlfriend?"

Hari sighed.

"Why does it have to be girlfriend/boyfriend every time I am seen with a boy?" she grumbled.

Keigo smirked but he shook his head.

"No, she's a family friend," he said. "Her mum was my godmother."

So he wasn't going to hide the connection. She gave him a thoughtful look before she turned back to his team who blinked at them. She nodded to show that this was true.

"So, are you here visiting?" Otori asked.

"Nah," Hari shook her head. "Keigo dragged me from my team to come here…"

"I didn't drag you," Keigo frowned at her.

"You pretty much did," she smirked at him.

He huffed.

"Your team?" Shishido asked looking up from whatever he was doing.

"She's a part of Seigaku," Keigo explained.

"I didn't think the girls' team played in this area today," Oshitari commented as he pushed his glasses up his nose.

"They don't," Hari deadpanned.

"She's on the boys' team," Keigo added when Hari didn't say anything.

"Not one of the regulars," she said.

"Yet," Keigo corrected.

They stared at her again and she saw they all looked more interested in her now and some even got a contemplative look in their eyes as they watched her. She pretended she didn't notice this.

"So, you're not going to start our school with Atobe-Captain?" Mukahi frowned.

Keigo smirked.

"I'm in the process of getting her to transfer over," he said.

"Hm, interesting," Oshitari said.

Hari, however, was frowning at Keigo.

"I'm not leaving Seigaku," she frowned at him.

"This is clearly the better school, Hari-chan;" Keigo said.

"That's not necessarily true," Hari scowled at him. "Honestly, I'm not going to transfer over to Hyotei. I like Seigaku."

"What's to like about that school?" Mukahi sneered. "We're clearly the best!"

"Says you," Hari gave him a blank look. "I don't care."

Mukahi glared at her.

"You'll see that this school is the best, Hari-chan," Keigo said and leaned forward slightly. "It can offer you the best subjects and possibilities for your future, and the tennis team is great. You will find your place with us. It's how it was supposed to be."

Hari stood up and glared at Keigo.

"I'm not leaving my brother," she said. "Sorry, Keigo. I'm staying with Ryo-chan and Seigaku and there's nothing you can say to change my mind about that."

...

She stalked away from them and didn't even care that she was being rude. She was so… angry! She should have seen that Keigo had some sort of agenda with his seeking her out as he did. She should have seen it! Why hadn't she questioned it?

He shouldn't have just said it like that. Like it was already decided and a done deal without talking to her about it first. She hated to have things sprung at her like that and being put in the spot like she had was…

"Baka!" she snapped and ignored the way a boy jumped away from her and gave her a frightened look.

She shook her head as she tried to calm down and push the anger away. She shouldn't let Ryoma see her angry. He was worried enough. She remembered the worried look he had when she walked away with Keigo. She felt a stab of regret and upset as she remembered and how she had waved his concern off. She really shouldn't have done that. Not when she could tell that he had been worried and if she came back upset…then his match would be ruined and she didn't want that. He needed to be focused.

She paused and took a deep breath before exhaling again and felt her body relax slightly as she did the exercises she had been practising to calm down. There was nothing she could do about it now. She would need to talk to Keigo later and make him understand that she wasn't going anywhere and that she wanted to stay at Seigaku.

In a way she should have seen this coming. He was very much like Malfoy in the sense that he felt entitled and had a right to demand things and expected them to be followed. She could, partly, understand him. In his mind he was right. He really thought she should be at Hyotei because had she been living with them, grown up with them, like she was supposed to, then she would most likely have gone to Hyotei as well.

That didn't mean that she liked the way he had just blurted it out there and talked like it was a done deal. She really hated that.

No, she was getting angry again. She had to stop her thoughts. She worked to push the thoughts away as she had learned during her years at Hogwarts. With a last effort, she shook herself and started to walk again.

She actually found the right court where Seigaku was going to play against St. Rudolph without getting lost and felt her mood get slightly better, though she frowned again when she saw the two teams standing to face each other outside of the court and Yuta seemed to be standing slightly in front of the rest of his team and glared at Ryoma.

...

Yuta glared at the younger boy in front of him and felt really annoyed when he just got an indifferent look back. He knew he was going to be facing him in his match and felt a stab of annoyance toward Mizuki who had prevented him from playing his brother. He hadn't said anything because he knew it wouldn't do anything to change the boy's mind, but he didn't by the fact about Mizuki having tried to match them up.

"You name is Echizen Ryoma, right?" Yuta asked giving the dark-haired boy a sceptical look. He did his best to ignore Fuji standing right there, only a few steps behind Ryoma.

"Hai," Ryoma said.

Yuta wondered because that was the last name of Fuji's friend, Hari. Were they related? He didn't think they looked like each other at all, but… maybe? He was curious. He had not been able to get her words out of his mind since he had seen her last. She thought he was a good player and she wanted to see _his_ style of tennis. She had even been angry when he had assumed that she thought that he wasn't like his brother.

She was weird but also…fascinating. He wanted to know more about her and know just what made her seem so believable. He had tried to push her words away as lies, but he couldn't do it. Her tone, her expression had all been so sincere.

 _I will look forward to seeing you play and I can tell that you really love tennis. I'm really interested in your style._

The words echoed in his mind and had done so day and night.

"You know Echizen Hari, then?" Yuta finally asked and thought he saw his brother stiffen slightly.

Ryoma frowned at him. Finally a reaction, Yuta thought.

"You know Hari?" Ryoma asked.

"We've met," Yuta said. "You have the same last name."

"That's because Ryo-chan is my little brother, Yuta-kun," Hari suddenly said and an arm was slung over Yuta's shoulder and he stilled before glancing to his side and saw Hari right there and being really close to him. He fought the blush as he worked to glare at her.

"Let go of me," Yuta grumbled knowing he was blushing.

Hari grinned and backed off holding up her arms in a disarming way.

"Gomen," she chuckled. "Couldn't help myself when I saw you glaring at Ryo-chan. Are you two playing each other, perhaps?"

"Hai," Ryoma said.

Hari glanced at him before looking back at Yuta who scowled. He tried to look disinterested but couldn't help that he was looking at her.

"You know Fuji-sempai's little brother, Hari-chan?" Horio asked.

Yuta stiffened as he glared and noticed the thoughtful look on Hari's face as she watched him. He noticed how she glanced at his brother who didn't say anything before she looked back at him.

"I have met Yuta-kun a couple of times," Hari finally said, "you shouldn't refer to him as Shu-chan's little brother. He is more than that, Horio-kun. Yuta-kun is Yuta-kun and Shu-chan is Shu-chan. It's rude to just refer to someone as 'little brother' instead of by name."

Yuta couldn't help the look of shock that crossed his face as he stared at Hari. She just gave him a small smile and turned to continue past him.

"Good luck today, Yuta-kun," she said as she looked over her shoulder and smirked at him, "I look forward to seeing your style. I'm sure it will be interesting."

"Ha-hai," he mumbled.

He watched as Hari patted Ryoma's shoulder before walking over to his brother and whispered something and nudged his shoulder making him smile ever so slightly.

He had no idea what to think about her. All he knew was that she was different from everyone else.

...

Hari stood outside the fence watching the teams' line-up and do the regular greeting. She had deliberately placed herself a little bit away from Sakuno and the rest of the first year and the two journalists. Right now she wasn't in the mood to carry any conversation or listen to them talk, she knew she probably wouldn't be left alone for long but right now they seemed inclined to let her be.

She sighed as she looked at Ryoma who was looking pensive and glanced over at her from time to time. She hoped he would be able to focus on his match and not on whatever he was thinking about Keigo. She wasn't really sure why Ryoma was so against Keigo in the first place. All she knew was that he got really grumpy and almost clingy when Keigo was mentioned.

She watched as Momoshiro and Kaido prepared to play in the first doubles match. She blinked before a small smile crossed her lips. She guessed they could work if they just learned to work together. She would at least get some entertainment watching them.

"You okay?"

Hari blinked and looked to her side to realise that Fuji had joined her and even if he seemingly had his focus on Momoshiro and Kaido she knew he was also watching her.

"I'm fine," she said looking back at the match again.

Fuji was silent for a moment and she felt a spark of amusement as she watched Kaido and Momoshiro growl at each other. She smiled slightly and felt something inside her lighten as she watched them.

She looked at the boy with the red band around his head and thought he looked kind of familiar… she had seen his face before but she was pretty sure she had never seen him. She frowned. Where had she seen him?

"So, I didn't know you still had contact with Atobe," Fuji suddenly said and Hari was interrupted in her attempt to place the teen on St. Rudolph.

"Mm?" she glanced over at Fuji.

He was looking at her with a pensive look on his face.

"I've met him a few times since he came to Seigaku," she admitted.

She could rarely say that she had seen Fuji surprised but it was clearly the main emotion on his face now but he schooled his expression quickly.

"I didn't know that," Fuji said before getting a pondering look. "Are you dating?"

Hari huffed and rolled her eyes.

" _No,"_ she stressed but she knew Fuji would still be trying to figure it out and she wondered why she even kept it secret. It wasn't like it was a secret, right? Keigo had told his team easily enough. She briefly frowned to herself before she sighed and gave Fuji a look. "My mum was his godmother. I never knew until the day he came to the school. I was supposed to have been growing up with his family when my parents died when I was a baby. That, obviously, didn't happen and…well."

She shrugged and turned her eyes to the match again just as Momoshiro and Kaido won their second game now leading 2-1.

"Huh," Fuji said and Hari couldn't help but think that this was very uncharacteristic of him so she glanced at him and saw that he looked surprised but his expression quickly turned pensive. "I didn't expect that."

Hari smiled slightly and shrugged.

"So, he just wanted to introduce his team to you?" Fuji asked.

Hari scowled and clenched her hands tightly as the anger came back and she was reminded of what had happened.

"Hari-chan?" Fuji sounded worried now.

"He wants me to transfer over to Hyotei," she admitted.

"Nan da yo?"

"I'm fine, Shu-chan, I won't leave Seigaku. I like this school and you have all become my friends." She gave him a genuine and soft smile before she nudged his shoulder. "So stop looking so worried, Shu-chan. And besides, we should be paying attention to the match. Ka-chan and Momo-chan seem to be having some trouble…"

Fuji nodded and she knew that the conversation was over for now.

 **...**

 **...**

 **AN:** **What do you think? :) Hoped you liked it!**

 **I just wanted to let you know some of my thoughts about how I cover the matches coming up. First of all, I love all of the matches played in PoT and find them all interesting and fun and I wished I could cover them all with Hari's commentary and view of the matches. I will do so for some of them, but I can't do it for all. Second, this story would get too long if I started to do that and I don't really think it will be all that interesting for you to read. That's why I will only focus on a few of the matches, one or two, against the teams they meet. Soon, Hari will also be with them to play in the matches as well.**

 **Thank you for reading and supporting my story! XD**

 **Japanese words used:**  
 **Baka - Idiot**  
 **Itee - Ouch**  
 **Himitsu - Secret**  
 **Ie - No**  
 **Ototo - Little brother**  
 **Hai - Yes**  
 **Gomen - Sorry**  
 **Sempai - upperclassman**  
 **Nan da you? - What?**


	21. Seigaku vs St Rudolph

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Prince of Tennis!**

 **...**

 **...**

 **"Parseltongue"**

 **...**

 **...**

"Ah, sorry!" Yoshida exclaimed as she came to a stop beside Hari. Hari looked at her and saw that she was breathless from running and was leaning forward to rest her hands on her knees trying to catch her breath.

"Yoshida-san," Hari greeted. "I was wondering where you were."

"I had to watch my little brother until mum came home and she was late," Yoshida complained. "I was running the entire way here!"

"Ah," Hari nodded. "Well, I'm sure it's fine."

She groaned and sank down on the ground still breathing harder.

"How are we doing?" Yoshida asked and glanced at the court. "We're playing St. Rudolph now?"

"Hai. Ma, Momoshiro and Kaido won their doubles match by default," Hari said and saw the raised brow. "I know, but they actually played rather well together. Even if they were bickering the entire time. You missed an amusing match."

Yoshida smiled.

"And, well, Kikumaru and Oishi lost their match," Hari continued.

"Eh? Really?" Yoshida asked surprised.

"They fought very well," Hari said, "they fought their way back into the match after getting behind and Kikumaru-sempai used up his stamina and Oishi-sempai had to fight alone using his moon-volley until Kikumaru-sempai came back. They managed to get the game to a tie-break and almost won but, unfortunately, it wasn't enough."

"Ah, that's too bad," Yoshida said and grabbed Hari's hand when she offered it to get back on her feet. "So, it's Echizen's game now?"

"Yeah," Hari nodded. "He's playing Yuta-kun."

"Fuji-sempai's little brother," Kachiro said from behind them and Hari sighed and her jaw tightened.

"I see," Yoshida said looking between Hari and the first years with a questioning look. Hari ignored it and turned back to the court and glanced at Fuji who just smiled at them.

"You okay, Shu-chan?" Hari asked him.

"Of course," Fuji smiled and Hari sighed. She would have believed him if not for the tension she detected in his smile but she doubted that anyone other than her and Tezuka noticed this and she saw Tezuka also give Fuji a concerned look.

...

"Yuta-kun is good," Hari commented.

"He has become stronger," Fuji said not looking away from his little brother.

Hari just smiled and watched them hit the ball back and forth for a while.

"Ah, the Rising Shot," Inoue commented his eyes watching Yuta.

"Rising Shot?" Kachiro asked.

"It's a shot that returns the ball as soon as it bounces," Inoue explained to the first years.

Hari tuned out Inui explaining and Yoshida adding something to his explanation as she focused on the match.

...

Game for St. Rudolph Fuji! 1 – 0

...

"I can't believe that Ryoma-kun lost the first game!" Tomoka cried.

"This is bad!" Horio exclaimed. "It was bad enough that the opponent was a southpaw!"

"This is a complicated situation for you, Fuji," Tezuka said stepping up next to Fuji and Hari.

"Why's that?" Fuji asked smiling with his eyes closed before they opened and Hari was struck by the sadness they now betrayed. "I'm fine with it if Yuta's okay with it."

Both Hari and Tezuka looked at him but he didn't say anything else. Hari was concerned but knew better than to push him right then and looked back at the court where they were ready to start again and now it was Ryoma's service game.

"Hm," Hari said and smiled slightly. "Looks like Ryo-chan is showing his best serve right off the bat."

She felt Fuji looking at her and when she glanced at him she saw the considering look he was giving her.

"What?" She asked.

"Nothing," he smiled and looked back at the court.

Stunned silence spread as they all stared at the court where Yuta just had returned Ryoma's twist-serve.

...

0-15

...

Hari pursed her lips considering as she looked at Yuta and noticed how angry he looked even though he returned a serve most people struggled against. She furrowed her brows as she watched him and felt a stab of worry for the boy who let his anger rule him.

"I can't believe that he has come this far," Fuji spoke up quietly next to her.

"Why not?" Hari asked glancing at him. "He is strong."

"I know that," Fuji said, "but he wasn't that strong the last time I saw him play."

Hari looked at him and then back at Yuta.

"He looks angry," she commented.

"…yeah," Fuji sighed.

"And what are you going to do about it?" Hari asked him.

Fuji frowned at her but didn't seem to have an answer for her and she bit back a sigh as her eyes went to Ryoma who was…smiling? She blinked.

"Huh," she said.

"What?" Fuji asked.

"Ryo-chan is smiling," Hari said.

"Why?" Horio asked having heard her.

"Well, he does like it when he's challenged," Hari said thoughtfully. "I guess that could be why…or…"

"Or?" Mizuno asked.

"Or he was testing Yuta's skills," Fuji said. "How well he could use his Super Rising."

"Eh?!" The first year trio exclaimed.

"I guess that could be it," Hari nodded.

...

15-15

...

"Mada mada dane," Ryoma's voice travelled to where Hari was standing and she felt her lips twitch in a small smile. "I've faced much stronger lefties than you."

Hari glanced over at Tezuka who was stoically watching the game. She almost snorted but refrained. Yeah, she would say that Ryoma had faced stronger left-handed players than Yuta. She wondered what Tezuka was thinking as he watched them, did he think back on the time he had played Ryoma? Comparing him to this Ryoma? Too bad that he was so good at keeping his face straight.

...

Game for Seigaku Echizen! 1-1

...

"Ryo-chan is having fun," Hari smiled pleased. "I knew he would love playing against Yuta-kun."

"You don't seem worried," Yoshida said coming up to her. "Yuta-san has shown that he can cause trouble for Echizen."

Hari glanced at her.

"Ryo-chan loves a good challenge," she said.

"You think Fuji's little brother will challenge him more?" Horio asked.

Hari felt a twitch settle in her brow as she gave Horio a stern look.

"What did I say about calling him that?" She asked and Horio took a small step back. "And of course Yuta-kun will challenge Ryo-chan more. Yuta-kun hasn't shown us all he can do yet."

Fuji nodded beside her and she wasn't the only one who noticed the worried look he suddenly got.

"This is the time for Yuta to shine," Fuji suddenly said.

"Hm?" Tezuka glanced at him.

"Yuta always hated to lose," Fuji remembered. "Even as a child."

Hari saw the smile that crossed Fuji's lips as he clearly remembered something, probably about Yuta. She almost asked but stopped herself. She wasn't going to pry into it and was just glad that Fuji seemed to remember something good about his little brother.

...

0-15

...

Hari frowned and leaned forward slightly as she noticed the almost unnoticeable flinch in Yuta. What had made him flinch? He had just missed one ball and Ryoma was only in the lead by that one ball. So, why did it look like he got scared for a moment?

He had just looked pensive and then glanced toward his manager and… her eyes snapped to the back of the manager seated on the bench. He was one of their players as well, Mizuki or something like that. She knew he was responsible for their data and Inui had said he was the one who had provided St. Rudolph with data on them making their matches that much harder.

Her frown deepened. Just giving data to the players on their team wasn't against the rules and she thought it was a smart move, but… something didn't feel right. She wished she could get a look at the dark haired teen's expression from where she was standing, but the only thing she could see was the back of his head.

She felt her eyes widen when she saw the new stance Yuta was standing in and she heard the small gasp coming from Fuji in a rare moment of laps of control over his reactions to the match.

Ryoma moved to return the ball but stopped when the ball hit the ground before twisting up straight at him and zoomed past his face and spun against the metallic fence behind and above him.

"Nani datte?"

"Twist Spin shot…"

Hari looked at Yuta and saw how his right hand supported the wrist of his left hand still in the stance that he was in after following through on the shot.

Impressive, but… something nagged at her as she looked between Ryoma and Yuta. Ryoma looked slightly impressed as he was looking over at Yuta while Yuta looked determined and angry. Like normal, she guessed.

"I don't know what to think," she murmured quietly and didn't notice that Yoshida glanced at her questioningly.

...

Game for St. Rudolph Fuji! 3-1

...

It was clear that Yuta had the advantage now with the Twist-Spin Shot and the Super Rising Shot, but Ryoma kept returning balls and didn't seem to become desperate even if he didn't get the points. Hari recognised this from when he was playing against Nanjiro and was just looking for something that worked against him.

"Eh!"

"The Rising Shot!"

Ryoma returned one of Yuta's shots by using the Rising Shot but it went high and out, but instead of looking depressed Ryoma only looked at his racket with a calculating look while swinging it lightly back and forth.

...

40-0

...

"Super Rising seems to be beyond Echizen," Kawamura commented worriedly.

"You think so?" Hari asked.

"You don't, nya?" Kikumaru asked.

She shrugged, "who knows?"

Fuji smiled before looking back at Yuta. Hari hadn't missed that he seemed unable to take his eyes off his little brother for most of the match. She smiled slightly and looked back at her own little brother. She wasn't worried. Not yet, at least. Ryoma was having fun and he would figure it out. She had faith in him.

As soon as Ryoma returned one of Yuta's shot the other one was waiting. Hari watched as Yuta again got into the stance for the Twist Spin Shot. Ryoma was again going to the net and this time when he hit the ball it landed just outside the line of the court and even if it was out it still shocked Yuta.

...

Game for St. Rudolph Fuji! 4-1

...

"It's pretty hard," Ryoma said. "If I don't hold the face down a bit more, it goes out. Still, I think I got the move down."

"Naruhodo," Kikumaru said. "Our boy's adjusting his racket angels while losing points."

Hari smiled slightly and shook her head.

"Typical," she huffed and smiled proudly.

"Ne!" Ryoma called again and Hari looked at him to see a small worried look on his face before it blanked out in that arrogant smile of his. "You shouldn't use that Twist-something that much."

Hari frowned again and looked at Yuta who was looking rather stunned as he stared at Ryoma. She heard Horio ask why but didn't pay him any attention as he went over Ryoma's words and what they could mean. She noticed that Mizuki had turned his head slightly and was staring at Ryoma and she couldn't miss how unsettled he seemed. Was he worried? But why….

Argh, this was getting frustrating. She hated not knowing what was going on and why Ryoma thought Yuta shouldn't use it. She knew that if Ryoma actually said something about it during a match he was serious and Yuta probably shouldn't use it.

Her eyes widened as she realised and her hands clenched into tight fists as she stared at Yuta in realisation. She gritted her teeth when she saw him get into that stance once more and performed the Twist Spin Shot and this time she really noticed the way he used his shoulder and the strain it put on it.

Why hadn't she realised that before? She paused her thought as she saw Ryoma running toward the net…and he wasn't slowing down. She tilted her head as she watched him. What was he planning? She heard the concerned warnings from the others but she didn't say anything because she knew that if Ryoma was running like this he had a plan and she wanted to know what.

She blinked as Ryoma suddenly was on the ground sliding forward before jumping up and meeting the ball before it bounced against the ground and hit it.

The ball seemed to fly high and she could almost see the relief in St. Rudolph but when she heard the familiar words:

"Mada mada dane!"

She smirked. There was no way that this shot was a miss. True enough the ball suddenly dropped and bounced right next to where Yuta was sitting slash standing in a perfect B before bouncing off the court.

...

15-0

...

"What?"

"What was that shot?"

"What just happened?"

The questions filled the court as they all stared.

"Drive B," Ryoma said.

Hari grinned proudly as she stared at her little brother. She knew he could do it. She glanced at Fuji and saw the surprised look on his face and laughed quietly to herself as she spotted it on the others faces as well.

Though, this just proved the fact that she had to perfect her own move as well. She was going to show that she could keep up.

"I just sealed your Twist Spin Shot," Ryoma said. "What will you do now?"

He pointed his racket at Yuta who just stared back at him.

"Your big brother isn't the only strong one here," Ryoma said, hands in his pocket and cap shadowing his face. "Your goal might be to beat your brother, but…I'm aiming much higher."

"You must beat me before you can go higher," Yuta said and his voice didn't contain any anger.

"Mochiron," Ryoma said.

Hari smiled and shook her head slightly in wonder. Looks like Ryoma was reaching Yuta with his words and play.

...

Game for Seigaku Echizen! 5-4

...

Hari had moved away from the others seemingly unconsciously but she was curious and worried so she moved closer to the bench where Mizuki was seated and was talking to Yuta. She could see that Yuta looked shocked by whatever the dark haired teen was saying.

"…If you lose here you will never surpass your brother!"

Hari only heard the last part of what Mizuki was saying but she could see the wide eyes on Yuta's face and almost stricken look as he stared at Mizuki. She frowned as she watched Yuta closely. Just why did he seem afraid? Again?

The angry look was back now and Hari almost stalked straight into the court and over to that manager who had removed the look Yuta had on for the last game that clearly said he was having fun playing against Ryoma. Because who was he to take that away? Who was he to purposely push Yuta's own demons on him to push him to win the match?

She was so angry that she didn't notice the fact that she was bleeding as she moved back to the others.

"Eh! Hari-chan!"

Hari glared and Sakuno and Tomoka shrank back as they paled and she blinked.

"Oh, sorry," she said inhaling to calm her anger down. "Didn't mean to glare at you two. What's up?"

"Um…" Sakuno said timidly and Hari grimaced slightly. "You're bleeding."

"What?" Momoshiro exclaimed hurrying over just as Hari blinked confusedly again and looked down at her hands and sure enough, she was bleeding from where her nails had dug into her palms.

"Oh," she said.

"Maji de?," Momoshiro said. "What did you do?"

Hari shrugged.

"Forget it," she said. "I'm fine."

Fuji glanced at her but didn't say anything as she ignored the others and stopped next to Fuji again. She frowned as she looked back at the court.

...

40-0

...

Ryoma just performed yet another Drive B and the ball went past an outplayed Yuta. Hari calmed down some when she saw that Yuta continued like he had and even allowed a small smile on his lips as he looked over at Ryoma. She inhaled deeply as she forced the last remnants of her anger down and smiled slightly herself.

"You know, Echizen is a mysterious guy," Fuji commented.

"Eh? Really?" Hari asked.

"He has managed to reach Yuta despite all the anger Yuta is holding," Fuji said.

Hari smiled.

...

Game for Seigaku Echizen! 6-4

...

They won the match. The cheering was loud and well, cheerful. Hari smiled and watched her little brother proudly but when she glanced over at Yuta she felt a little worried about him. She was not sure she trusted that Mizuki very much. Or at all.

"So, what are you going to do about him?" Hari asked as she glanced at Fuji.

"Hm?"

"Mizuki," Hari gritted out the name like it was distasteful.

Fuji glanced at her.

"He'll regret teaching Yuta that move without warning him about the consequences," Fuji said.

"Good," Hari said and a smirk crossed her lips. "If you hadn't planned on that I would have hit you."

Fuji laughed and held up a hand.

"Oi, oi," he said. "Seems like you've become protective over my little brother, Hari-chan."

Hari stared at him before she huffed.

"Guess so," she said. "He reminds me of my friend and me to a degree. Besides, no one deserves to be treated like that."

Fuji nodded and gave her a genuine smile before he reached out and ruffled her hair like she was a little kid. She scowled at him but smiled slightly as well.

"I'll deal with him." Fuji promised.

...

Hari yawned and stretched her hands up in the air.

"Eh? How can you be that relaxed?!" Horio exclaimed.

"Eh?" she blinked at him.

"You know we're losing!" Horio yelled and sounded angry. The other first years were nodding and looking anxiously at Fuji who lost another ball.

"I can't believe that Fuji-sempai is losing," Tomoka cried.

"Even he has trouble…" Mizuno said.

"I don't know why you're so worried," Hari said and yawned again. "I just wished he would get started soon. This is boring."

"What?" they stared at her.

Hari noticed that the others also looked at her some with more understanding than others.

"He's not serious yet," Hari shrugged. "He'll crush Mizuki."

With that she walked away from them and toward where Yuta was standing watching the game with a torn expression on his face.

"You worried?" She asked him.

He glanced at her and tried to make his face blank but she could still see the worry on his face.

"No," he denied stubbornly.

"I see," she said.

She didn't move away from him and remained standing beside him as she looked to see Fuji lose yet another ball making the score 5-0 in St. Rudolph's favour.

They were changing places and Fuji stopped by Ryuzaki to get another racket. She watched him walk with his eyes opened and a serious look on his face. She almost shuddered. Fuji was scary when he was serious.

"He really cares about you," Hari commented suddenly.

"What?" Yuta looked at her confused before he blushed slightly. "He doesn't…"

"You don't believe that," Hari said eying him. "Give me an example on when he has ever shown you that he doesn't care."

"He let me move to the dorms and transfer to St. Rudolph without a word," Yuta said. "He just asked if I was going."

Hari nodded.

"I'm fine with it if Yuta is okay with it," Hari quoted.

"Eh?"

"That was what Shu-chan said when you played Ryo-chan," Hari said as she stuck her hands into her pocket never taking her eyes off Fuji who just returned a shot that he had missed earlier in the match clearly stunning Mizuki.

Yuta stared at her and then looked over at Fuji.

"Perhaps you don't know your brother that well, Yuta-kun," Hari said gently. "That's alright. You still have time to fix it."

"He…" Yuta spoke up after a pause and Hari glanced at him and saw him watching Fuji with a small and sad smile on his lips. "He protected me from bullies when we were kids. I had provoked them and they were beating me, but then suddenly he was in front of me, shielding me from them and even if they beat him he didn't move. He got them to go away and he comforted me afterwards…he never said a word about it again."

She smiled slightly as she listened.

"He really said that?" Yuta looked at her and she nodded.

"He did," Hari smiled at him. "So, perhaps you should talk to him, Yuta-kun."

He looked back at the court and didn't say anything else but Hari didn't press and just stood there beside him in silence watching as Fuji completely turned everything around and crushed Mizuki by going against all of the data the other boy had gathered.

Hari smirked.

...

"Good game," Hari smiled at Fuji when he was free from Kikumaru's hug.

"Thank you," he said.

"You knew he was playing with Mizuki all the time, didn't you Hari-chan?" Kikumaru asked.

Hari just stared at him but a small smile had her lips twitch slightly.

"That was why you said it was boring!" Horio yelled and waved at her.

"Boring?" Fuji arched a brow.

"You did let it drag out a bit, Shu-chan," Hari rolled her eyes. "Though, I do say he deserved it. We should prank him too."

Fuji nodded.

"Eh, what would you do?" Kawamura asked.

Kawamura wasn't the only one who shuddered when both Fuji and Hari just smirked at them without replying.

"On the other side," Kawamura said, "I don't think I want to know."

...

Hari smiled amusedly as she watched Fuji trail after Yuta who looked a cross between uncomfortable and pleased as the older of the two was trying to get him to come home for dinner.

"Seems like they have worked things out," Ryoma commented.

"Yeah," Hari nodded. "That's good."

Ryoma nodded as well.

"So, will you tell me what's been bothering you since you came back from meeting Atobe's team?" Ryoma asked.

Hari stilled and looked at him.

"Who says…" She started.

"Hari," Ryoma frowned at her. "I know you, remember? I can see that you're still upset. What did he do?"

She sighed and looked away from him deliberating on what to say. Her eyes followed the Fuji brothers as she thought. She knew she would have to tell Ryoma. She didn't want to lie to him.

"He just thought he could order me to do something," Hari finally said.

"He wants you to transfer over to Hyotei," Ryoma stated.

Hari glanced at him and nodded. She saw the anger in her little brother and sighed. She hadn't wanted to upset him.

"I told him no, Ryo-chan," Hari said. "I just…I don't like being told what to do and the attitude of some of his team was…annoying."

"I'll…." Ryoma fumed and turned around to walk away and probably look for Keigo. Hari grabbed his arm and held Ryoma back. "Let go of me, Hari!"

"No," Hari said. "Calm down."

"No!" Ryoma said through gritted teeth.

"I already said no to him," Hari said. "You have nothing to worry about."

"He still thinks he can come here and take you away!" Ryoma spun around and glared at her.

She felt her eyes widen when she saw the anger in those hazel eyes as he glared at her now and she took a step back from him. She was confused as to why he suddenly seemed angry at her.

"And you! You just allow him to…to take you with him!" Ryoma accused. "Do you want to leave? Is that it? You don't see what it does to us when you go to see him. You don't see it! We're your family, Hari!"

Hari opened and closed her mouth as she stared at Ryoma.

"You don't like being told what to do," Ryoma continued and narrowed his eyes at her. "So, if he had asked you, would you have accepted? Would you have gone to Hyotei instead? Is that it? Is that what you want, Hari?!"

"What?! No! Of course not!" she said.

"Because that's what it sounds like, Hari," Ryoma snapped. "It's like you're pulling away from us, from _me_! You're always busy and won't tell me where you have been… and then he shows up and you just…leave!"

Hari was not sure what to say to that. She stared at him and noticed the anger (obviously he was practically shouting) but also the hurt and pain. She had seen glimpses of it before but never this prominent and she felt a stab of guilt and pain go through her, but also…confusion. She just couldn't grasp that he felt like this. And from the way he was using 'we' instead of 'me' made it seem like he was talking about more than just the way he felt. Did that mean that his parents felt the same?

She was not aware of the watching team who was looking concerned as she stared at Ryoma. He was breathing harder than normal and she could see the flush of red in his cheek. The cheer from winning had disappeared and she felt another stab of guilt.

"I…" She was lost for words and she frowned.

Ryoma turned and walked away and Hari stared after him. She took a small step forward as if to follow him but then she stopped. Her hands clenched at her side and she bowed her head feeling tears spring to her eyes as he walked away.

He hated her.

...

Fuji grinned as he followed his brother and chatted at him. He was amused by the reluctant smile Yuta showed and just enjoyed being able to talk to him like this again.

"Oh, fine!" Yuta snapped. "I'll come home!"

"Mum will be so happy!" Fuji smiled.

"Whatever," Yuta muttered embarrassedly.

"Fujiko-chan!"

Both of them turned to see Kikumaru coming running toward them with wide eyes and a panicked look on his face. Fuji arched a brow and Yuta glanced at his brother and then over at his teammate.

"What's wrong, Eiji?" Fuji asked confused.

"You…you have to come!" Kikumaru panted.

Fuji's eyes narrowed as he took in Kikumaru's appearance.

"Why? What's happened?" Fuji asked quickly.

"They're fighting and…and I don't know what to do," Kikumaru wailed. "Even Tezuka-Captain is at a loss!"

"Who's fighting?" Fuji asked.

"Hari-chan and Ochibi-chan!" Kikumaru said.

"Eh?" Fuji's eyes widened. That was not what he had expected to hear.

"I don't know how it started," Kikumaru said. "They were talking, but they do that all the time. Then…then suddenly Ochibi-chan was yelling and said something about Hyotei and Atobe…"

Fuji frowned but didn't say anything.

"Then…then Ochibi-chan said something about Hari wanting to leave them and that she would have gone if Atobe had asked her," Kikumaru frowned. "She denied it, but I don't think he heard it. Or cared. He walked away and she's…she cried."

Fuji groaned.

"Yuta," he glanced at his brother. "I'm sorry, but I will need to go and check on my team. I'll see you at home."

Yuta nodded looking worried.

"I hope they'll be okay," he said.

Fuji nodded.

...

"Tezuka?" Fuji asked as soon as he and Kikumaru joined the team who was standing still and no one was talking. That was not a good sign. Fuji looked around but saw no trace of Ryoma or Hari.

Despite his normal stoic mask Fuji could now see a trace of worry on Tezuka's face. He glanced at him.

"Where's Hari-chan and Echizen?" Fuji asked.

"Echizen walked off in that direction," Tezuka said nodding toward the centre of the courts. "Hari-chan…well, she ran off that way." He nodded toward the exit.

"No one followed her?"

"Kaido did," Tezuka said and that was when Fuji noticed that Kaido was missing from the group. "Momoshiro followed Echizen."

Fuji frowned.

"You know what this is all about?" Tezuka asked. "I've not seen them fight like that before."

"I know Atobe asked, no, ordered Hari-chan to transfer school," Fuji said.

"What?" Kikumaru exclaimed. "Hari-chan is our teammate! She's our friend! He can't just order her to transfer! Why would he even do that?!"

Tezuka frowned and Fuji could see that he didn't like it either.

"Yeah, and she refused," Fuji said. "She was really angry when she got back from meeting his team. She only hid it because she didn't want Echizen to notice and worry."

"I think that backfired," Inui commented.

Fuji just nodded. Who to follow? Hari could be anywhere right now and with her ability to get lost… it would be a miracle if they found her. Besides, Kaido had followed her and he was good at dealing with her. So, he would need to trust that Kaido had Hari covered.

He would follow Ryoma. Looks like they needed to have a little talk anyway.

I'll see if I can find Echizen," Fuji said. "The rest of you should go home."

"Eh? But…" Kikumaru protested.

"They will not like being stared at or being crowded right now," Fuji told Kikumaru. "Right now the best thing would be to give them space. This is something that is between them and we should respect that."

"But you will see him," Kikumaru complained. "I want to see Ochibi-chan too... Our boy is upset!"

"And you will be there for him when he needs you," Fuji said. "Right now he doesn't need all of us crowding him."

"Fuji is right," Ryuzaki spoke up and they realised that she had joined them now and from the worried look on her face had been caught up on what was happening from Sakuno. "This is a family matter, Kikumaru. Right now, it's enough that Fuji is looking for Ryoma."

"Then Hari-chan…" Kikumaru said.

"Kaido followed her," Fuji said. "And we won't find her if she ran to the exit. We need to trust Kaido to cover her."

"But…"

"Eiji," Oishi said gently. "This is what we can do. We'll see them at school and you can check on them then. I'm sure Fuji will send us a text to let us know that he found Echizen and if he's alright."

"…fine," Kikumaru mumbled.

...

Ryoma ignored Momoshiro who was talking or more like asking questions but he tuned him out. He felt the anger burn through him and he gritted his teeth, but then Hari's face flashed in his mind and the shocked and scared expression on her face hit him. He pushed it out. He wasn't going to allow himself to soften up. She was the one who…

Argh.

He hit the metal fence and heard the sound rattling around him but he didn't pay it any mind nor the worried exclamation from Momoshiro. Why was he still there? He should just go away!

Ryoma stalked off as his mind spun and his words and Hari's words tumbled around in his mind making him dizzy, confused and angry all at once.

She didn't even care that he was worried about her. She didn't even notice it! He didn't want her to leave but she would and then it would be like last time. He would be by himself again.

Just then he saw Keigo and his team up in front of him and he stopped short. It was his fault! If he had just stayed away from Hari then this wouldn't be happening. He wouldn't be fighting with the girl who was his big sister! He wouldn't be close to losing her! Again!

Without much thought Ryoma stalked over to Keigo who had stopped walking as he stared at Ryoma with a neutral expression on his face but it turned to shock when Ryoma actually hit him making him stagger back a couple of steps before a hand went to his mouth where a small trail of blood slipped out of the corner of his mouth.

"Echizen!" Momoshiro yelled and pulled Ryoma back.

"Stay away from Hari!" Ryoma snapped glaring at Keigo who rubbed the blood away and held up a hand to keep Kabaji back. The rest of the team was staring in shock.

"Why?" Keigo smirked.

"She's my sister!" Ryoma glared.

"No, she's not," Keigo narrowed his eyes. "She's not related to you at all."

"Oi!" Momoshiro said glaring at Keigo now. "Shut up!"

"It's the truth;" Keigo said. "Hari-chan is the daughter of my godmother and if things had gone the way it should then she would have grown up with my parents and me."

Ryoma was shaking with anger and Momoshiro shot him a concerned look. He had never seen Ryoma like this before, so angry and actually resulting in violence. He just hoped that the other boy didn't report this because this could be used against Ryoma.

"My parents looked for her for years," Keigo continued. "They mourned her. They deserve to have her with them now."

"That's not up to you to decide, though," a calm voice interrupted and Momoshiro glanced to the side to see Fuji stepping up to them and Momoshiro couldn't help but let out a small sigh of relief.

"Hari-chan is my sister," Ryoma repeated again. "She's been so since we met back in England and she came to my home. My parents' love her like their daughter. It doesn't matter that she's not their blood. She's theirs either way."

"I think that this discussion is pointless," Fuji said and levelled his opened blue eyes at Keigo. "The Echizen's have adopted Hari-chan. It's legal. And Hari-chan told you that she didn't want to transfer schools. You better back off or we will show you how we protect our own, Atobe. Hari is a part of Seigaku and has become one of us. She's our friend."

Keigo gave them a last glare before he walked away from them with his team following behind him.

...

"Oh man…" Momoshiro said as he let go of Ryoma. "I really thought he was going to fight you back!"

"Whatever," Ryoma muttered and scowled at the ground.

Fuji watched him without saying anything and Ryoma could feel those eyes on him making him uncomfortable and wondering what he was doing there. He would have thought that Fuji would have gone after Hari if he was going to get involved in this.

"What?" Ryoma finally snapped.

"Saa," Fuji shrugged. "I was just wondering what you were thinking."

Ryoma frowned at him and wondered what Fuji meant by that. Momoshiro also looked confused.

"He's a jerk," Ryoma said.

"Atobe?" Fuji asked unnecessarily and Ryoma nodded. "Well, yeah. He's a rich kid who feels entitled to what he sees as his."

"Hari's not his!" Ryoma snapped.

"No," Fuji nodded calmly. "She's not."

They were silent again and the courts around them were almost empty now with only a few stragglers left.

"She said she didn't like being ordered around," Ryoma suddenly said. "Like if he had asked she would have considered it."

Momoshiro frowned as he watched Ryoma while Fuji watched with a calm face and his eyes closed before he smiled.

"I don't think that's true," Fuji said and Ryoma looked up at him.

"But…"

"Do you know what Hari-chan has been working on these last few weeks?" Fuji asked opening his eyes as he looked at Ryoma.

"No," Ryoma muttered. "She's just been busy."

Fuji nodded.

"I'm not supposed to say anything to you about it," Fuji said after a pause.

"You know?" Ryoma asked quickly.

"I've been helping her," Fuji said and gave Ryoma a pensive look before he sighed. "Hari-chan will not be happy with me for telling you, but I think you need to know."

"What?"

"She's been working on a new tennis move," Fuji said and Ryoma's eyes widened. "She's been working really hard on it and it's turning out to be great."

"But why wouldn't she tell me?" Ryoma asked.

Again Fuji was quiet for a long moment as he watched Ryoma and Momoshiro was quietly watching them both.

"You seem to think that she wants to leave you," Fuji finally said. "While she seems to think she needs to prove to you that she belongs."

Ryoma startled and then frowned.

"Oh...shit."

...

Hari sat on the edge of the stone wall overlooking the river below. She stared at the vast blue water that swirled past her and further down the river in an effortless motion.

Ryoma's hurt look flashed through her mind over and over again and she felt her chest clench in pain.

"What have I done," she muttered. "I'm an idiot."

 **"** **Time is spacious and always new"** Kaido hissed next to her

Hari ignored it and just continued to stare at the water. She wished she could just go back in time and fix it. She would have not gone off with Keigo and this would not have happened. She wouldn't have upset Ryoma so much and made him hate her.

Would he even want her to come home? Did he want her to leave now?

She bit down on her lip to stop herself from crying even if tears were defying her and running down her cheeks. She raised a hand and rubbed them away in stubborn defiance. She wasn't going to cry. She didn't have the right. It was her own stupid fault. She had hurt her little brother…

"Hari-chan," Kaido said his voice gruff. "He'll calm down and then he will realise that you didn't want to leave."

"I hurt him," she whispered.

"I think it's a misunderstanding," Kaido said glancing at her. "You both should have talked about what you were feeling."

Hari knew Kaido was right. She knew, but… she wasn't good at this. She didn't know what to do. She didn't know what they expected from her. She just wanted to belong and she was working so hard to prove to them that she did.

"He hates me," she couldn't stop the fresh tears from escaping and this time she didn't bother to wipe them away. "He hates me."

"Shh," a hand landed on her head and stroked her hair like she was a wounded animal but the action was oddly comforting. "He doesn't hate you, Hari-chan."

She turned slightly and let her head fall down to rest against his shoulder. She felt him tense for a moment but then he relaxed and just continued with the comforting strokes. She wasn't sure what made her turn to him like this.

Nor did she let herself think how odd it was to hear Kaido talk openly about this without being a stuttering or in his case hissing mess. She felt grateful for his support.

Neither of them noticed the older teenager watching them from behind a tree with a pensive look on his face that was partly shadowed by a cap and absentmindedly playing with an orange with one hand.

...

"Isn't it time to go home soon?" a voice asked and Hari and Kaido both glanced up to see an older teen with a cap that shadowed his face looking down at them.

"What's it to you?" Hari scowled at him.

 **"** **Raspberry and jam are great,"** Kaido hissed.

"Nothing," the teen shrugged and seemed to study her but she couldn't get a clear look of his face. "Though, I would think that your family is worried about you."

Hari frowned and tensed as she looked at him.

"How would you know that?" she asked suspiciously.

"I have my ways," he said and she could see a smirk on his face and she frowned. There was something familiar about him.

"Do I know you?" she asked.

"Nope," he said. "But I know you, so I suggest you go home before your parents and little brother goes crazy with worry for you, Hari-chan."

He turned and walked away from them.

"Oi! How do you know my name?!" Hari called after him.

He paused and tossed the orange up into the air as he glanced over his shoulder at her and caught the orange again before answering.

"Mada mada daze," he said with a smirk and then he left.

 **...**

 **...**

 **AN: What do you think? :)**

 **I know some are frustrated by Atobe and I can understand that. He will get better soon, though! He just needs to realise that he can't have everything he wants the way he wants it. Hari will be dealing with him soon and hopefully, he'll get the wake-up call he needs ;)**

 **And another character showed up! I won't name him but I'm sure some of you figured out who he is! I hadn't planned on having him enter the story yet but he just showed up and demanded to be put in, so here he is! :) hehe. Hope you liked it.**

 **As always; thank you for reading and supporting the story! Hope to hear from you in the reviews! XD**

 **Japanese words used:**  
 **Mada mada dane - Not good enough**  
 **Nani datte? - What was that?**  
 **Naruhodo - I see**  
 **Mochiron - Of course**  
 **Maji de? - Seriously?**  
 **Mada mada daze - Not good enough**


	22. Belonging - part 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Prince of Tennis!**

 **...**

 **...**

Nanjiro watched Hari seated at the kitchen table picking at her breakfast and not really paying attention to anyone. He did notice that she cast long glances toward the doorway to the hallway and the stairs but she didn't make any sign of moving out of the chair.

He frowned slightly as he turned the page of his magazine and let his eyes stray over the blond model in a swimming suit and for show let out a giggle. He glanced up but there was no sign of annoyance or anything from Hari. He pouted inwardly.

He knew that something had happened between Hari and Ryoma and he was not inclined to just sit back and wait for the two to fix things themselves like his wife had said to do. She said something about having to learn to talk together and something about understanding, but Nanjiro hadn't paid attention.

He knew that, but that didn't mean that he had to just sit there and wait for them to talk. Did it? He glanced over at Hari again and saw that she once more cast a glance toward the doorway before letting out a sigh.

He thought about the call he'd had with Ryuzaki the night before. She had called to ask if Hari had arrived home alright and told him about the fight. She hadn't known the details but enough to know that it was some misunderstanding and that they both thought they knew what the other one was thinking and wanted.

Complicated.

He sighed. He could understand his son to a degree. He was unsure about his role in Hari's life now because she had started to get friends outside of him and had spent time outside the house without Ryoma. Ryoma was used to Hari spending all her time with him and follow him around while he practised his tennis.

At least that was what his wife said when he told her about it. She said that Ryoma had to learn that Hari also had friends and that it didn't mean that she didn't care about Ryoma.

While Hari had to learn that she could open up more to Ryoma and to them all in general. Rinko seemed to understand Hari the best and Nanjiro was frustrated to know that Hari had trouble trusting them. Rinko said that it would take time for Hari to learn that and that they had to give her the time to do so.

He understood that but… did it have to be this difficult to wait? He sighed quietly to himself as he realised that his thoughts had drifted away from what he was thinking about.

The call from his old coach. The old lady had suggested having Ryoma and Hari helping her granddaughter with her tennis and he liked the idea. It would force them together and maybe get them to talk in an innocent situation.

That could work. He looked back over at Hari and frowned when he realised that she hadn't really eaten anything.

"Aren't you going to eat?" he asked in a carefree voice and his eyes still on his magazine.

"I'm not that hungry;" she muttered.

"Ah," Nanjiro frowned slightly as he looked up. "You do need to eat, Hari-chan."

She sighed and nodded without looking up at him and he watched as he took a bite. He nodded to himself as he got up. He had to do something because he couldn't watch Hari mope around all day and his son didn't seem willing to do anything.

"We're going out after you've eaten, Hari-chan," Nanjiro said as he closed his magazine and got up to his feet. Hari glanced over at him and frowned but then she just shrugged.

,,,

Nanjiro opened the door to Ryoma's room and saw his son looking at the door from the bed and it was clear that he had just woken up but he still looked tired.

"We're going out, so get up, Ryoma," Nanjiro said after a moment.

"Nani?" Ryoma glared at him. "I don't want to."

"Well, you don't have a choice," Nanjiro said. "So, if you want anything to eat before we leave, get up now."

Ryoma grumbled something and Nanjiro smiled at his son and laughed as he stumbled out of the bed with Karupin meowing after him.

Nanjiro walked back downstairs as he thought back at the night before. Hari had arrived home quiet and subdued. She had asked if Ryoma was back yet and when told that he wasn't her shoulders had hunched more and only with a nod told them she was going to bed.

Nanjiro had been worried enough to call Ryoma and found that he had been out looking for Hari, and had hurried home when Nanjiro told him that she had just arrived home. Ryoma had looked worried and slightly torn when he entered the house and rushed up the stairs.

Nanjiro had been worried so he had followed and seen his son standing outside the closed door that led into Hari's room. Nanjiro had waited and expected to see Ryoma enter the room like he usually did but he hesitated with a hand on the doorknob. Then, much to the observer's surprise, he turned around and marched into his own room. Just as his door closed the other opened and Nanjiro saw Hari standing there looking at Ryoma's door before she closed the door again.

...

The silence in the car was stilted. Nanjiro glanced in his rear-view mirror and saw Hari looking out of the window with a bored look on her face. He picked up on the tension in her shoulders, though. A glance toward Ryoma in the seat next to him showed him equally tense even as he yawned and stared resolutely out of the mirror.

"Where are we going, Oyaji?" Ryoma finally asked.

"You're going to help the granddaughter of a friend of mine who's just started to learn tennis," Nanjiro said cheerfully and smiled when he noticed Hari glance at him with a frown.

"I don't want to!" Ryoma declared right away with an annoyed scowl on his face.

"Well, you don't have a choice," Nanjiro said. "I was going to do it, but something came up. You two can help her in my stead."

He was lying but it was necessary. Hari was still looking at him from behind him and he could tell that she was not convinced of his story, but when he met her eyes in the rear-view mirror she huffed and looked back out of the window.

"That's not my problem," Ryoma said not giving in that easily and took a fruit that was lying beside them and missed the satisfied look on Nanjiro's face as he took a bite.

Nanjiro suddenly stopped the car making Ryoma jolt forward slightly. Nanjiro managed to get him out of the car while Hari had gone out without any prompt from him. She wasn't really looking at Ryoma as she stood there waiting.

"Here!" Nanjiro threw their tennis rackets out of the car and they both caught their own.

"Oyaji!" Ryoma yelled. "Chotto!"

"You can't refuse now, Ryoma," Nanjiro smirked. "That fruit that was a gift from my friend. You ate it too, right?"

"Eh?" Ryoma's eyes widened while Hari just rolled her eyes.

"That's the situation," Nanjiro called out of the window of the car as he started to drive off. "I'm depending on you two! Be good coaches for the granddaughter of my friend!"

"Wait! Oyaji!" Ryoma called but he was already out of the parking lot and they were left standing there by themselves.

Nanjiro grinned. He could see them standing there staring after him until he made the turn and disappeared from view.

Now he just had to find something to do for the day until he would come back to pick them up.

...

Hari sighed as she pulled her bag with her racket over her left shoulder and wondered what Nanjiro was thinking. Well, she kind of knew what he was thinking. He wasn't that subtle, really. He did this to force the two of them to talk and Hari glanced at Ryoma seeing the scowl on his face and felt her chest tighten. He was obviously still angry at her and the idea of spending the day with her was not what he had in mind.

"He tricked me. That stupid old man," Ryoma said glaring at the now empty street.

Hari opened her mouth to say something but was cut off by a loud call of;

"Ryoma-sama!"

Hari glanced to the side while Ryoma seemed to freeze in place as the overly excited girl with the two pigtails came bouncing up and down as she beamed at him.

"You really came!" Tomoka said excitedly.

Sakuno was standing slightly behind her friend and was blushing as she gave them both a shy smile.

"H-hello," she greeted.

Hari felt like laughing when she caught sight of Ryoma's face and the horror slash fear that seemed etched into his expression. But the unease she felt and worry along with the guilt had her just sigh and start to walk over to the two girls.

"Hari-chan," Sakuno smiled and Hari gave a short smile back.

"Come on," Hari sighed and glanced over her shoulder at Ryoma. "Ryo-chan, let's go."

He blinked at her startled out of whatever horror like thing he was imagining and his face settled into his usual scowl as he followed them.

...

They reached an open space by a wall that was perfect to practice by shooting the ball at and they stopped there just by some stairs leading further up the park. Hari didn't really care what was up there, though.

"What now?" Sakuno asked unsurely.

"Yeah! Tell us what to do," Tomoka grinned.

Ryoma sighed before he told them to start hitting the ball against the wall. He went to sit down on a low wall and Hari moved to show Sakuno and Tomoka how they should hold their racket for the exercise.

"It will be easier for you if you hold the racket like this," Hari said and showed them. "Try it."

Sakuno nodded and copied the way Hari held the racket before Tomoka did the same and grinned when she swung the racket back and forth.

"Oh!" Sakuno blinked. "I think this is better."

"Yeah!" Tomoka agreed.

Hari nodded and stepped back.

"Come on," she said nodding toward the wall. "Try to hit the ball."

Sakuno and Tomoka both started and Hari fell back watching them. She felt Ryoma looking at her but stopped herself from turning to meet his eyes. She wasn't sure she wanted to or was ready to see the disapproval in his eyes.

She felt her lips twitch when both girls missed their balls and fell over because of the force they used. They got up again and continued to hit the balls and she was glad to see that they both managed to do it a couple of times in a row without missing the ball.

Of course, they did miss again and Sakuno fell back once more.

"You're using too much power," Ryoma commented bored.

"Hai," they both replied and then sighed.

Hari noticed Sakuno glance at her and then over at Ryoma before she frowned slightly. Probably by the distance between the two.

...

Sakuno was worried. She saw the distance between Ryoma and Hari and it seemed…wrong. They always seemed so close and at ease with each other but now it was like there was something between them and it was so thick she was sure she could cut it with a knife.

"You think they're still fighting?" Tomoka whispered to her also glancing toward the two siblings.

"Looks like it," Sakuno said worriedly. "I wish I knew how to help…"

Tomoka nodded.

"Oi, continue!" Ryoma called out.

"Hai!" They yelled.

Sakuno kept glancing at them, though. She saw the way Ryoma glanced at Hari who was standing to the side watching them but there was a distracted look in her eyes as well.

"I'm sorry for dumping this on both of you," Sakuno spoke up and the two siblings looked at her.

"Don't worry about it," Ryoma said looking away.

"It's no trouble," Hari said kindly.

Sakuno sighed and still felt worried as she glanced between the two. She wanted to say something, but what if she said something and it made it worse? What could she say that would help them?

"Sakuno-chan," Hari said stepping up to her. "You need to bend your knees a little more when you hit the ball."

"Hai," she said and frowned slightly.

"Calm down, Sakuno-chan," Hari smiled at her and she blushed and looked down. "We've practised together before, right? Ryo-chan isn't judging you even if he seems a little…odd. Just forget that he's there. I know you can do it, okay?"

Sakuno felt herself blush again but Hari's words calmed her down slightly as she focused on the ball and the racket. She made to hit the ball but missed.

"I'm hopeless," she said as she picked the ball up.

"No, you're not," Hari said and glanced down at the ball noticing the small drawing on it. She smiled slightly as she recognised Ryoma's face but she didn't say anything as she saw them dreamy smile on Sakuno's face as she watched the face. "You're just being self-conscious. Watch me for a second, ok?"

Sakuno nodded.

"Oi! Are you giving her private help?!" Tomoka asked frowning.

"You're free to watch me too, Tomoka-chan," Hari smiled at the girl. "You just seemed to be on a roll, so I didn't want to interrupt your progress."

"Oh," she said and smiled. "But I'll watch you too."

Hari nodded and grabbed her racket and tossed the ball up slightly and hit it when it was in front of her racket. She made a point on being extra deliberate in her movements and how she hit the ball.

She hit the ball that returned to her and so on and so on until she caught it with her left hand and turned to the watching girl.

"See? Be focused and don't rush it," she said.

They nodded.

"Try it," Hari said.

Sakuno nodded again and wished she could be as good as Hari, even Tomoka seemed to have a better handle of this than she and she hadn't been playing tennis for the last months… Dejected thoughts hit her again.

No, she could do it. She had to… She hit the ball and…it flew high over the wall and further into the park above them.

Oh no…

...

Hari blinked and grimaced slightly as she watched as Sakuno hit the ball over the wall. She seemed to blush furiously and was probably feeling embarrassed.

"I'll go and find the ball!" Sakuno called as she ran up the stairs.

Hari blinked and sighed.

"I'll go with her," Hari told Ryoma who nodded. "You continue with Tomoka-chan, alright?"

"Sure," he said and met her eyes.

She inhaled slightly as she realised that his eyes weren't as cold as she had expected maybe he wasn't as angry as she thought?

She pushed the thought away and ran after Sakuno catching up with her at the top of the stairs.

"Oh, so embarrassing," Sakuno moaned.

"It's alright," Hari smiled at her.

"I never get it right," Sakuno said. "Not when…"

Ryoma was watching. Hari found it kind of adorable, but she didn't say it. She didn't think it was right to tease Sakuno about it right now and well, she wasn't really in the mood to tease her.

"Are you okay, Hari-chan?" Sakuno asked after a moment as they tried to find the ball. Just how far had she hit it?

"Mm?" Hari glanced at Sakuno.

"You seem…sad," Sakuno said, "and…you and Ryoma-kun haven't really spoken at all…"

Hari looked away from the other girl and sighed. She hadn't realised how obvious they were being. Her thoughts had been distracted all morning between her fight with Ryoma and how to fix it and the fear of seeing his cold hurt eyes directed at her and the stranger from the night before because he didn't really feel like a stranger to her.

It was like she should know who he was. It was strange because she knew she had never met him before. She was sure of that… and the way he had said… It was like the answer was just at the tip of her tongue but she was unable to get the answer out.

"Hari-chan?" Sakuno's worried voice reminded her that she hadn't responded to her at all.

"Ah, gomen, Sakuno-chan," Hari said. "I'm fine. I just don't really know how to make up for hurting Ryo-chan."

Sakuno frowned slightly.

"Have you said you were sorry?" She asked shyly. "He really cares about you and I'm sure he will accept your apology."

Hari blinked at her before she let out a small laugh.

"You're really smart, Sakuno-chan;" Hari said. "I should just say I'm sorry. I don't know why I didn't think about that… I was trying to find a way to fix it and make some gesture to show that I wasn't going to go with Keigo to Hyotei…"

Sakuno smiled pleased with a blush in her cheeks.

...

They arrived at a school and Hari noticed a tennis ball just inside a metal fence and Hari immediately felt like something was off. Just how had the ball landed all the way over there?

"Oh! There it is!" Sakuno exclaimed before trying to reach the ball with her racket but it was just out of reach.

Hari noticed the approaching boys all wearing the same green pants and shirts and Ginka was written on their t-shirts. She recognised the name as the name of the next team they were going to face. Her eyes narrowed as she took in their smirks and leering eyes as they watched her and Sakuno.

"What are you doing?" A boy with black hair asked.

"It seems like my ball went in there," Sakuno said.

"Why don't you come in and get it," the boy said in what would be a pleasant voice.

"Ha…" Sakuno started but Hari stepped up and placed herself in front of her friend.

"Why don't you just toss it out to us?" Hari interrupted Sakuno.

"It's not my job," the boy said and his eyes moved downwards looking her over before he looked back at her. "You can come and get it if you want it."

Hari narrowed her eyes at him and she wasn't lost to the snickers from his friends. He was smirking at her and clearly waiting for her to say something. Sakuno was biting her lower lip in worry and glanced between Hari and the boys.

"I can get it," Sakuno told Hari.

"No," Hari said not wanting Sakuno in there with them. They were up to something and there was no way she was going to let Sakuno inside there with them. She was sorely tempted to just abandon the ball but she saw the way Sakuno glanced at it and knew that she really wanted that ball.

Hari groaned inwardly as she made up her mind. She just couldn't stop herself from doing the opposite of what her inner voice (so alike Hermione) told her to do.

"I'll get it," she said. "You wait here, Sakuno-chan."

"Hari-chan…" Sakuno frowned but then she nodded.

...

Hari was so not surprised when the basket of tennis balls magically fell over and mixed all the tennis balls together making it harder for her to get the one that was Sakuno's and forcing her to bend over more. She fisted her hands as she really wanted to hit that smirk off the black haired boys face.

"What are you doing?" Hari demanded with a frown.

"I don't know what you mean," the boy smirked and stepped closer. "But…I'm sure I can help you if you ask nicely and then in a show of appreciation come with me to eat something."

Hari tensed slightly as his eyes looked her over again and she wasn't lost to his meaning.

"Back off," she glared at him coldly.

"That's not asking nicely," he hummed.

"I'm not asking you for anything," Hari said.

"Hari-chan!" Sakuno called worriedly.

Hari was considering her options. She hoped that Sakuno wasn't going to come inside and she was aware of the boys having closed off her path back out of the courts. Stupid.

...

Sakuno bit down on her lip as she watched the boys surround Hari, not too close but still enough to be uncomfortable. She saw that Hari had tensed and felt guilty. She should have just given up the ball…

What to do now, though? Sakuno knew she wasn't going to be able to do anything to actually help.

Ryoma. She, they, needed Ryoma.

She pulled out her phone and was glad that she had gotten his phone number. She immediately called him.

" _Yes?"_ Ryoma's impatient voice sounded.

"Ryoma-kun!" Sakuno's voices were breathless.

" _Ryuzaki?"_ Ryoma asked.

"Yes, you have to come! Quick! Hari-chan needs you!" Sakuno said quickly.

" _What? Is Hari in trouble?!"_ Ryoma asked.

"Yes, there are some boys and…" Sakuno said and heard Ryoma curse. She wasn't sure she had ever heard him curse before…

" _Where are you?"_ he asked quickly and she could tell he was moving and heard Tomoka in the background asking what was going on.

Sakuno explained where they were before he ended the call.

...

Hari made a pointed move to look for the ball while deliberating if she could get away by hitting the boy before her or if she would get in trouble with the school. He really was asking for it. She also didn't like to feel cornered like this.

She gritted her teeth as the memories of Dudley cornering her with his cronies snickering behind him threatened to overtake her but she forced it back as she glared at the boy. She was not that weak little girl anymore. She was not someone who couldn't fight back.

"You have the ball," she said in a low voice. "It's not on the ground anymore. You just want to see me crawl around looking for it."

"Now, that's not a very nice thing to accuse me of," he said in mock hurt.

"It's the truth," Hari said. "Now, give me the ball before I am forced to take action."

He laughed loudly and the others did the same. He stepped closer and reached out to touch her but she dodged him and pulled her hand back preparing to hit him when a tennis ball suddenly hit him in his right eye making him stumbled away from Hari who dropped her hand and looked to the side.

She was not surprised to see Ryoma standing there with a fierce scowl on his face and his tennis racket in hand. She heard the gasps from the boys as they took in Ryoma and the hole in the fence that had been made by the tennis ball Ryoma had hit.

"Ryo-chan! I was going to hit him!" Hari complained.

"I couldn't stand by and watch him try to touch you," Ryoma glared at the dark haired boy who was staring at Ryoma. "Stay away from my sister, bastard!"

Hari couldn't help the happiness that filled her chest as he openly declared her to be his sister even in this situation but she hurriedly pushed it away as she looked back at the stunned boys.

"You're just a little kid," the black haired boy said trying to sound tough. "Go back home."

Ryoma glared and walked over to the court and entered it making his way over to Hari who watched him.

"You tried to touch my sister and I won't allow that to slide," Ryoma said.

"I can take care of myself," Hari grumbled at him.

"Yeah, I know," Ryoma said without pause and glanced at her. "But that doesn't mean that I won't step in when I see you in trouble, Hari."

She blinked and felt a little…stunned by the simple way he said that. It was like it was obvious and she wondered if maybe it was.

"Oooh, such a sweet moment," the boy interrupted them and Hari glared at him. "The little boy actually thinks he has a chance against us, boys!"

They all laughed.

"Oi! Watch how you're talking to my little brother!" Hari snapped at him.

"10 balls a person," Ryoma suddenly said.

Hari glanced at him and arched a brow wondering what he was on about.

"Nani?" one of the boys asked.

"A game," Ryoma said watching them. "I play half of you and Hari plays the other half. You have 10 balls each. If we lose we'll let you keep the ball and walk away."

"You plan on playing all of us?" another one asked incredulously. "And a girl?!"

Ryoma snorted and looked back at the black haired one.

"What do you say?" Ryoma smirked. "Or are you too scared? Worried that you'll lose to a girl and a little kid?"

Hari smirked as well as she looked over the group of boys who looked a little uncertain on what to think about this.

"Oh, interesting," the 'leader' said with a cold laugh, "but let's change the terms a little. If we win then she has to go on a date with me. And if you win then we'll forget about checking the balls and you can take them all."

Ryoma scowled and opened his mouth to say something but Hari put a hand on his arm and stopped him. He frowned at her but she just smirked and he relaxed.

"Fine," Hari said. "Deal."

The 'leader' got a pensive look in his eyes before he laughed again.

...

Hari was the first one to go and she smirked at the boy on the other side who was looking confidently at her. He served the ball with more power than she had thought, but she had no problem returning it making it fly past the boy.

He got another ball and tried again. She returned it and he missed.

Again.

And again.

Hari yawned as he the boy was lying flat on the ground breathing heavily. She looked toward the watching boys who was staring at her stunned.

"Hehe…" another one laughed. "He must have underestimated her! She was just lucky!"

"Then prove it," Hari challenged and he took his place.

He served the ball and she used her speed to reach it and the ball was returned over the net landing behind him as he had run forward to meet it. He turned to watch where the ball had landed and stayed still in the same spot.

He frowned at her and she tilted her head in a curious manner and arched a brow.

"Well?" she said. "I'm waiting."

He growled.

He failed.

And so did the next and the one after that.

The last one was the black haired boy who Hari had named the 'leader' who was smirking at her but he seemed a little more worried now.

He served and she hit it back he managed to return it once but she caught it and played it back over at his side making him miss it.

"I'll take the next one!" he said.

"Try," she yawned.

He growled at her and served.

She returned it.

...

"Nice," Ryoma smiled at her and she grinned as she changed places with him not sparing the 'leader' a glance as he was lying flat out on his back at the sidelines.

"Go get them, Ryo-chan;" she smiled.

"You bet," he smirked back at her and she ruffled his hair under the cap making him scowl at her and smack her hand away but she caught the small pleased smile on his face as he did so. She was just feeling happy that they seemed to be back at where they were.

Hari watched as Ryoma got ready to take the first five boys and smiled amusedly as they all failed to get the ball past Ryoma who returned them all without any problem.

"I can't believe you did that!" Tomoka said in a voice crossed between awed and incredulous. "What if you had lost? You would have had to go on a date with that creep!"

"You really shouldn't have done that, Hari-chan," Sakuno still looked worried.

Hari smiled at them.

"There was no way I would lose to them;" she said confidently.

Hari just shrugged and watched Ryoma continued to play with the remaining boys and she knew he took way too much pleasure in humiliating them like this. She found that she really didn't mind.

"Mada mada dane!" Ryoma called out when the last one was defeated.

Hari, however, froze.

Mada mada dane…

Mada mada daze…

It was so similar. That was why she felt like she should have known that stranger. He wasn't a complete stranger after all. But…could it really be…? She frowned as the realisation hit her and she knew who it must be, but at the same time… could it? Was it possible? Then why hadn't he come to the house? Why hadn't he said who he was?

...

"I can't believe you two actually took all of the balls," Tomoka laughed as she watched Ryoma and Hari carrying the balls with them back toward the parking lot where they were going to meet Nanjiro again.

Hari broke out of her distracted thoughts and laughed.

"Why not?" she asked innocently. "That was the deal."

Sakuno giggled and was pleased to see the easier mood around both Hari and Ryoma.

"They deserved it," Ryoma nodded.

They sat down at a bench and Hari placed the bag of tennis balls beside her as she looked up at the blue sky. Her mind drifted back to her recent suspicion on who the teen from last night really was and she glanced at Ryoma.

"Something on your mind, Hari?" Ryoma asked noticing her watching him.

Hari was silent for a moment. Should she say something? She wasn't sure if it really was him or not, and if she was wrong then Ryoma would be disappointed.

"Just wanted to say I'm sorry," she said and smiled slightly but her eyes shadowed slightly. "I…I should have told you sooner about Keigo and I shouldn't have said it as I did. I really never even considered and never would have considered transferring over to Hyotei."

Ryoma was silent for a moment and Hari noticed Sakuno dragging Tomoka away and she was grateful that the two girls gave them some privacy to talk.

"I shouldn't have reacted like that either," Ryoma said. "I'm…sorry."

Hari saw that he was embarrassed and awkward but he was sincere.

"Hari…" Ryoma spoke up again and she glanced at him. "Fuji-sempai told me… about the move you have been working on."

Hari stilled and felt a flash of betrayal go through her but Ryoma spoke before she could say anything.

"He didn't want to," Ryoma hurried, "he just…thought I should know because I was being stupid and thought that you wanted to leave us. I thought you didn't want to be with us when you had someone there who knew your parents. They could offer you a stronger link to your parents and I thought you would want that."

Hari blinked a little surprised by what he was saying.

"So, Fuji-sempai told me about the move and why you were working on it," Ryoma explained. "Hari…you don't need to have a special move in tennis to belong with us. Even if you didn't play tennis you would belong with us, we all want you with us."

Hari forced tears back as she blinked rapidly.

"I…" Hari couldn't get a word out and she swallowed.

Ryoma glanced at her.

"You're my sister and my parents see you as their daughter, Hari," Ryoma said quietly. "They're waiting patiently for you to realise that."

Just then Nanjiro drove up and waved at them and when he saw Ryoma and Hari talking his smile widened and became more genuine and softer. Hari blinked again trying to force the tears back but she couldn't help the way her chest swelled and emotions took over.

...

Hari had excused herself and told Ryoma and Nanjiro that she wanted to go out for a walk and had declined their offers of accompanying her. She needed to think and a look at Ryoma seemed to make him understand because he nodded and gave her a small smile and told Nanjiro to let her go alone.

She was grateful that he did that because her mind felt like it was going to spill over with all that had happened the last two days. Her fight with Ryoma, the stranger who probably wasn't a proper stranger, her making up with Ryoma… It all was overwhelming.

Ryoma didn't hate her. That thought made her smile. She had really feared that he would hate her now and that she would be left alone like before. She thought back to her friends at Hogwarts, of Ron and Hermione. They were her best friends and while she loved them she wasn't sure if they really felt the same about her. Oh, they cared. But did they really care about her or about the Girl-Who-Lived?

She felt rather bad even thinking it, but the doubt was there.

But with Ryoma, that doubt was never there. She was just Hari with him and she was even more scared to lose that. So, the idea of him hating her was physically painful. That was why the relief was so great when he didn't hate her and that he told her that she belonged with them.

He had been honest when he said it and Hari wanted to believe him. It was so much promise in his words that even now she felt her chest constrict and emotions swell up in her chest. His hazel eyes had been steady and sincere.

Fuji had been right when he said she didn't need tennis to belong.

She just did.

That was a novel idea. She just belonged. She never really had belonged anywhere before. With the Dursley's she was the unwanted burden left on their doorstep. At Hogwarts, she was the hero or the scapegoat depending on the situation.

So could she really believe that she belonged here? With Ryoma and his parents who she was more and more thinking off as her own? Would they mind her calling them Otou-san and Okaa-san?

She sighed as she reached the river without getting lost. For once.

She sat down and stared down at the water like she had the day before only this time without Kaido at her side.

...

Ryoga was walking down the path by the river and had just arrived at the spot where he had been watching _her_ and her friend the day before. He wasn't sure why he had gone back there now. Maybe he just wanted to be closer to the house where his family lived?

He sighed as he pulled a hand through his hear and adjusted the earphone in his left ear as music filtered through it. He looked toward the spot where he had seen _her_ and paused when he noticed that she was back again. This time she was alone.

He swallowed slightly as he watched her from the shadows. What was she doing back there now? He couldn't help but wonder about that.

Echizen Hari.

He had been surprised and a little upset when he had heard that his father and stepmother had adopted a girl into their family. His aunt had mentioned it one day and he had been curious about this girl that had been taken in by the Echizen's.

He had tried to stay away and told himself that he didn't care but in the end… he had left the apartment he shared with his aunt in New York and boarded a plane and before he knew it he was on his way to Japan.

He frowned as he watched Hari sitting at the edge of the wall and looking down at the water below her. He was curious about what she was thinking about now. He wondered if she had gone home as he told her to the day before and if she had fixed the problems with Ryoma.

He had watched them both the day before at the tournament. He had stayed in the shadows just watching them, watching how Ryoma played tennis and how he and Hari had interacted. He couldn't help the feeling of something heavy in his stomach as he watched Hari tease his little brother and the annoyed look Ryoma shot her. Nor could he help the longing that went over him as he watched Hari cheer for Ryoma when he won a game and saw the smile Ryoma shot her. How he wanted to be there…

When they had their fight Ryoga was watching and despite himself felt a stab of glee at the fight between them before he scolded himself and pushed it away. He shouldn't feel happy about that. He was upset, though, because Hari was pushing Ryoma away when she had him in her life and had the chance to be there with him. Like he couldn't.

He had followed Hari just because he was curious and angry and wanted to see how she reacted to the fight. He was prepared to go to her and scold her for pushing Ryoma away but then he had seen the, there were no other words for it, despair in her eyes even from the distance he had been watching her. He had seen her lean against her friend and it was clear even to Ryoga that she was torn up over the fight.

He hadn't scolded her or yelled, he had just pushed her back toward the home she now belonged to and where he didn't. It had hurt more than he thought it would, but if Ryoma would be happy with her next to him then Ryoga wouldn't regret it.

Without a conscious thought, he moved. He walked over to the girl who was Ryoma's big sister like a magnet was pulling him toward the girl and not his own legs carrying him.

"So, back again," he said as he tossed the orange into the air before catching it again.

Hari's head snapped up and wide green eyes stared up at him. He saw her mouth pop open in shock as she stared at him.

"Yo," he smirked.

...

Hari blinked.

He was still there. He was tall and muscled, she could tell even through his dark blue jacket, and this time she could see his face clearly. He was really very similar to Ryoma, she thought to herself. Much the same face structure and the same hazel eyes. He even had the same dark-greenish hair colour but his hair was slightly longer than Ryoma's but not long by any means.

"Ryoga-san?" Hari said almost questioningly but at the same time not.

"You know my name," he said as he tilted his head.

"I've seen pictures," Hari said quietly. "Why don't you sit down?"

Ryoga looked at her for a moment before he shrugged and sat down next to her. He kept playing with the orange in his hands but she didn't say anything about it.

The silence stretched between them slightly awkwardly.

"So," Hari swallowed glancing over at Ryoma's older brother. "Arigatou."

He arched a brow as he looked over at her.

"For what?" he asked.

"For yesterday," she said looking back at the water below them. "I needed the push."

"So, you fixed it?" Ryoga asked.

"We did today," she nodded.

They were quiet again and Hari wondered what to say. Should she ask why he hadn't come up to the house? Or should she mention that Ryoma missed him? Should she…

"Good," he said.

"You saw us fight?" Hari finally asked curiously despite herself.

"Yeah," he said and looked at her again. "I watched you both during the tournament yesterday."

Hari nodded.

"You don't think I'm a stalker?" he asked with a wry smile.

Hari blinked and glanced at him.

"I'm sure you have your reasons for doing it," Hari said.

He frowned at her for a moment before he looked away and they fell into a silence again. Both of them were lost in their thoughts and for now, neither seemed inclined to break the silence.

"If I said I wanted to see if you were good enough to be my baby brother's sister, what would you say?" he finally asked.

Hari stilled slightly and her eyes darkened slightly.

"I would say that I probably would have done the same," she admitted. "And…I know I'm not good enough to be Ryo-chan's sister, but I really want to be and I do my best to be the best sister he can have."

Ryoga was staring at her and she felt uncomfortable but she refused to look away from him. She was not sure but she really wanted to have his approval.

"I see," he finally said. "That's good."

He looked away again and she was left wondering what he was thinking.

...

"Are you coming home?" Hari asked as she stood back up a while later.

Ryoga looked at her surprised like he hadn't expected her to say that.

"I…shouldn't…" he said but she saw the longing in his eyes.

"Why not?" She challenged.

He opened his mouth to answer.

 **...**

 **...**

 **AN:** **What do you think? :) Ryoma and Hari had their talk and made up! Yay! :) Will Ryoga come back with Hari? ;)**

 **Hope you liked it! It turned out to be much longer than I originally planned. XD**

 **Japanese words used:**  
 **Nani - What**  
 **Chotto - Wait**  
 **Gomen - Sorry**  
 **Hai - Yes**  
 **Oyaji - Dad/Old man**  
 **Okaa-san - Mom**  
 **Otou-san - Dad**  
 **Arigatou - Thank you**


	23. Confrontations

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Prince of Tennis!**

 **..**

 **...**

 _flashback_

 **...**

 **...**

How had he ended up here? That was what went through his mind as he stood in the middle of the living room of the Echizen's house. His father was staring wide-eyed at him and his mouth opened in a small 'o' like he didn't believe what he was seeing. Ryoma was blinking owlishly as he stared at him and Ryoga swallowed.

"Hey…" he said awkwardly.

They blinked and he felt the nerves swirl around in his stomach when silence was all that met him. Why had he ended up here again?

Oh…that's right… he glanced over at Hari. It was her fault, he thought and as if sensing him looking at her she glanced at him and smiled. Amused. She was amused and he felt like narrowing his eyes as he remembered just how he had ended up standing in the middle of the living room in front of his father, stepmother and little brother…

...

" _Nande?" She asked._

 _Ryoga frowned at her. Why not she asked… like it was just to waltz back in there and say hey and then what? It wasn't as if they actually wanted him there._

" _It's not that easy," he said._

" _Easy?" She tilted her head as she looked at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"_

 _He sighed and glanced away from her. He didn't want to explain it, not to her because she wouldn't understand. She was a part of them and he…he wasn't._

" _You wouldn't know," he said and tossed the orange up in the air and caught it as he distracted himself and put on a smile. "It's complicated."_

 _She nodded as she looked at him._

" _Daijobu," she said, "but that doesn't mean that you can't come home to say hello to your family, right? They would love to see you."_

 _He stared at her and opened his mouth to say something when a loud voice interrupted them._

" _Hey! Hari-chan!"_

 _Both Ryoga and Hari turned toward the voice and saw a boy coming toward them on a bike and with spiky dark hair._

" _Hey, Momo-chan," Hari smiled and waved. "You're out rather late."_

" _So are you," Momoshiro said giving her a look before glancing over at Ryoga curiously. "Oh, who's your friend?"_

 _Ryoga opened his mouth to make his excuses and leave because if she was preoccupied with her friend then he could get away before she asked any more of his reasoning of not coming back with her._

" _Oh, he's Ryo-chan's Aniki," Hari said making Ryoga's head snapped toward her. "Ryoga-san."_

" _Echizen's brother?" Momoshiro repeated surprised. "Oh, I didn't know he had a brother. Nice to meet you! I'm Momoshiro Takeshi; I'm in the same class as Hari-chan and plays tennis with her and Echizen."_

" _Nice to meet you," Ryoga said a little stunned and at loss for words._

 _She had so easily introduced him as Ryoma's brother, so easily claimed him as a part of Ryoma's life, and it warmed something inside of him. Was this what it felt like to be claimed as a part of a family?_

" _Are you lost again, Hari-chan?" Momoshiro's voice interrupted his thoughts and Ryoga looked over at Hari again when she let out a groan._

" _Ie," she said giving her friend the evil eye. "I'm not lost! I know perfectly well where I and how to get home!"_

"… _if you say so," Momoshiro said in a voice that said clearly that he didn't believe her and she knew it too if the glare was anything to go by. "But you have to admit that the word of a girl who regularly gets lost isn't that convincing."_

" _I don't get lost," she protested. "It's everyone else who keeps moving around!"_

 _Ryoga felt a smile cross his lips as he took in her indignation and then she suddenly pouted._

" _At least most of the time," she added reluctantly._

" _Right," Momoshiro snorted._

" _Whatever," Hari scowled. Then she grabbed Ryoga's arm and started to drag him with her. "We have to go home now, Momo-chan. See you at school!"_

" _Alright," Momoshiro said with an easy smile. "See you!"_

 _Ryoga was then dragged up the stairs from where they were and down the streets. He glanced at the girl who dragged him curiously as he tried to figure out what she was thinking._

" _They always nag about me getting lost," she grumbled._

" _Oh? And why's that?" Ryoga asked curiously not really thinking over the fact that she was dragging him with her._

" _Just because I sometimes end up in places I'm not supposed to," she scoffed. "It's not my fault. Really! It isn't"_

 _She gave him such a look that he felt like he should agree so he nodded and she smiled at him._

 _Suddenly they were in front of a house and he blinked. It was… she had dragged him with her back to her home and he hadn't stopped her. He opened his mouth to say something but she had already opened the door._

" _Tadaima!" She called._

" _Welcome home, Hari-chan!" a familiar male voice called and Ryoga stiffened but was too surprised and stunned to protest as Hari pulled him into the living room._

 _..._

That was how he found himself in front of his father, stepmother and little brother.

"You know you're going to make him believe you don't want him here," Hari commented when the silence had stretched long enough.

"How…" Nanjiro asked hoarsely. "Ryoga…You're…What… How?"

Had he ever heard his father sound so at a loss for words? Then the man was over at his side and Ryoga's eyes widened a second before he was pulled into a tight hug. He tensed as he felt his father's arms around himself in the first time in years… and it felt good.

"Ryoga," he heard the man whisper.

"…Oyaji," he said quietly.

"You're home," Nanjiro pulled back and grinned at Ryoga who blinked.

"Nii-san," Ryoma said and Ryoga looked over at his little brother.

"Hey, Ryoma," he smiled. "How are you?"

"I'm fine," Ryoma shrugged. "When did you get here?"

"A couple of days ago," Ryoga said awkwardly.

They fell into a silence until Ryoma looked at Hari and then back at Ryoga.

"How come you two came together?" Ryoma frowned.

Ryoga scoffed and looked at Hari who smiled innocently at him. She barely noticed Nanjiro and Rinko look at her with relief in their eyes as well as curiosity.

"She dragged me here;" Ryoga said.

"Saa?" Hari blinked. "I just took you back home. What's wrong with that?"

He fiddled with the orange in his hands as he glanced around the room.

"But…how did you know each other?" Ryoma asked confused.

Hari just shrugged before she replied.

"He got me to go home yesterday after our…fight," Hari admitted. "I didn't know who he was yesterday, though. I just figured it out today and when he came to talk to me again…well, I thought it would be good to bring him home."

Ryoga was scratching the back of his head as they turned to look at him again.

"Very good," Nanjiro smiled and with that, he pulled Ryoga to the seating area and sat him down and Hari smiled as she watched the father and son start to catch up.

"Thank you, Hari-chan," Rinko said before Hari was pulled into a hug.

"Eh?" Hari blinked at her confused when she was released.

"Nanjiro has been really worried about Ryoga," Rinko said. "It's good to see him back home again."

...

Hari cast another curious look at her shadow of the day. Ryoga was walking beside her and was looking rather relaxed as he followed her through the streets of wealthy looking buildings. He had decided to follow her as she left the house for the day.

"So why have you decided to play shadow to me today, Ryoga-san?" she asked casually.

"Do I need a reason?" he asked.

Hari glanced at him again. He looked calm and casual but there was an underlying tension in the way he glanced at her and then looked away. His shoulders seemed a little too tense. He had a reason for following her and she had a suspicion about why.

"You have a reason," she said calmly, "but I won't ask you for it."

He looked at her again and this time she noticed the searching look in his hazel eyes but she just turned her attention back to where she was going and frowned slightly as she realised that they had been at this street before. She sighed.

"So, are you going to tell me why we are wandering through the same streets for the last 30 minutes?" Ryoga asked curiously.

Hari ignored him.

"I thought Ryoma and that friend of yours exaggerated your ability to get lost," Ryoga continued. "But I think they might actually have a point."

Hari shot him a glare.

"I didn't ask you to come," she said sullenly. "So, don't complain."

He laughed and she realised that she hadn't really heard him laugh until now. She felt some of her annoyance fade away as she noticed some of his tension give away.

"I'm actually starting to think that you are a stalker," she said making him blink at her and smirk at her.

"Oh? I must be a very poor one then," he quipped.

"Or a brilliant one," she shot back easily. "You hide in plain view."

"You're strange," he said and chuckled.

"Thank you," she smirked before turning forward again as they rounded a corner and she let out a small sigh of relief. "We're here."

"Hyotei Academy?" he asked as he read the sign above the large gate. "Why are we here?"

He looked at her and she just shrugged as she continued through the gate.

...

They made their way across the empty schoolyard. It was a very large school by the looks of it and Hari imagined that if it hadn't been a Sunday they would have seen a lot of student walking around. But since it was a day off they could walk around by themselves.

Hari found the tennis courts without getting lost and noticed that it was much larger than the ones at Seigaku. She also noticed that a group of people were at the middle court and a game was going on while others were seated at a stand to the right.

"What are we doing here, Hari-chan?" Ryoga asked.

"I'm here to talk to Keigo," Hari said.

"Nande?"

"Because he has to realise somethings," Hari said before she sped up.

She had texted Keigo and asked to meet him. He had told her to come here and even if she didn't really want to go to his school to meet him she decided that it was best to just get it done. She couldn't allow it to go on like this much longer.

She noticed that it was the same group of people she had met before that was gathered at the courts. Mukahi Gakuto and Oshitari Yushi were the two playing if she remembered their names correctly.

She noticed a boy with messy orange hair sleeping slightly behind the others on the stands and she cast him a curious look. He looked so at peace and you'd think he was in his own bed at sleep by the looks of him. Just who could sleep that well out in the open like this?

"Oh! Echizen-san," Otori was the first to notice her and by his voice, the others looked over and noticed her as well. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, thank you, Otori-san," Hari nodded politely to him.

He smiled kindly at her and glanced over at Keigo who was watching her with a pensive look on his face.

"It's you!" Mukahi exclaimed and seemed to have abandoned the game as he came over to them and glared at her. "What are you doing here?"

"You're being rude, Mukahi," Oshitari sighed as he came over as well. "Hello, Echizen-san."

Hari nodded at him and ignored the other she didn't like him and didn't feel like dealing with him.

"Who's with you, Hari-chan?" Keigo asked and Hari noticed him looking at Ryoga who was watching them with a calm look but had found an orange (where had that come from?) and was tossing it lightly up in the air as he watched them.

"Echizen Ryoga," Hari said and Keigo narrowed his eyes slightly. "He's Ryoma's brother."

"Ryoga-san, this is Atobe Keigo," Hari glanced at Ryoga and then at Keigo. They seemed to be observing each other.

"Nice to meet you," Ryoga finally said politely.

"You too," Keigo said back in the same tone. "So, why did you want to meet me, Hari-chan?"

Keigo turned his attention back to her and seemed to dismiss Ryoga.

"You already know that," Hari said eyeing him. "Don't pretend that you don't."

Keigo was silent for a moment and the team watched them nervously and slightly curious.

"Fine," Keigo sighed. "Come on. We'll talk over there."

...

Hari followed him so they were a little bit away from the others and could talk in private even if they were still seen by the others.

"So what happened to your face?" Hari asked eying the bruise on his cheek curiously.

"Your little brother doesn't like me very much," Keigo shrugged and Hari's brows went up. Ryoma had hit him? She hadn't known that…

"Naruhodo," was all she said out loud.

"You don't seem sorry," Keigo observed.

"Well, you probably said something stupid," Hari said and he huffed.

"Whatever," he said. "So what do you want?"

"I just thought we should talk," she said and frowned slightly at the coldness she sensed in him.

"I can't imagine what about," he said. "You made your feelings about me clear. You pick them."

Hari sighed softly as she watched him.

"What did you expect?" she asked him.

"I expected you to realise that this is what best for you!" Keigo snapped at her. "You belong with us, Hari-chan! You were supposed to be with us and I'm only trying to do what is right. Attending Hyotei is what's best for you because it can offer you the right education and I will be here to watch out for you just like Aunt Lily and Uncle James would have wanted me to do. Mum and dad have missed you and looked for you since you went missing. They want you to come home as well."

Hari listened and felt both annoyed and sad by his words.

"What about what I want?" She challenged as her annoyance won over. "What about my choice in all this?"

"It's for the best," Keigo said stubbornly. "We're your family, not the Echizen's!"

Hari scowled at him.

"The Echizen's are my family!" Hari shot back at him. "Don't you try to say they aren't! Ryoma is my brother and Nanjiro and Rinko is my parents!"

She barely noticed that she claimed them as her parents out loud for the first time. She pushed it back to think about later.

"I know that if things had gone like it was supposed to then I would have grown up with you and your parents," Hari continued trying to calm down. She would obtain nothing if she lost her temper and just yelled at him. "But that didn't happen, Keigo. I'm sorry it didn't because I'm sure it would have been a much better childhood if I had. I'm sure. As it is I grew up with an aunt and uncle who didn't really want me and I never felt home or accepted until I met Ryoma and his parents. They accepted me and have been great to me."

Keigo scowled and his hands were fisted at his side as he refused to look to look at her.

"So you pick them," he said coldly.

Suddenly he looked so defeated and lonely that Hari felt a stab of guilt and sadness for him. She knew that his parents must be busy with their jobs and he was probably left on his own a lot. So maybe this wasn't just about what her parents had wanted back when they were alive, but also a way for him to have someone in his life on a regular basis.

"It's not about picking anyone!" Hari said in a softer voice. "I'm not saying that I don't want to get to know you better or your parents! I do want that but I will continue at Seigaku and stay with Ryoma. But I want to be in your life as well."

He looked at her then and looked thoughtful.

"Also, you can't just go around ordering me around," Hari said as she inhaled deeply. "I hate being controlled and told what to do. Talk to me and ask me before you just go around deciding things."

He nodded slowly and she smiled slightly as she sensed that he had calmed down and the coldness she had sensed in him had faded back.

"What about we meet at least once a week?" she asked. "We could have dinner and talk or something like that?"

He couldn't hide the relief in his eyes quickly enough as he nodded.

"Alright," he said in a calm and collected voice. "That would be acceptable."

She just smiled and nodded.

...

They went back to Ryoga and the rest of Keigo's team who was chatting lightly but Hari wasn't lost to the searching look from Ryoga when they joined them again or the curious looks from Keigo's team.

"You okay?" Ryoga asked.

"I'm fine," she smiled at him. "You? Are you bored to death yet?"

"Nah," he shrugged. "They are an interesting bunch."

Hari smiled and nodded as she looked back at the others who didn't quite seem to know what to think about her as they looked at her. She just smiled at them.

"Does he always sleep like that?" She asked nodding toward the sleeping boy.

"Ah," Otori smiled. "He does."

"What's his name?" Hari asked.

"Akutagawa Jiro," Keigo answered. "He's a strong tennis player, but he's lazy."

"I see," Hari said amused.

Hari and Ryoga stayed and talked a little more with them before they left.

...

"Oh! It's you!" A voice said loudly making Hari and Ryoga pause and turn around to see a boy around 10 looking up at her with wide violet-blue eyes.

"Ah, Minoru-chan," Hari smiled.

"You remember me?" he asked with a wide smile.

"Mochiron," she said.

"I thought you might have forgotten me," he said with a shrug before he glanced to her side and frowned slightly as he looked at Ryoga. Hari followed his eyes as she wondered why he suddenly scowled.

"This is Echizen Ryoga," Hari introduced, "Ryoga-san, this is Yukimura Minoru."

"Nice to meet you," Ryoga said eying the boy curiously.

"Hm," Minoru huffed before he looked back at Hari much to Ryoga's amusement and Hari's confusion. "What are you doing?"

"We're on our way home," Hari said. "We've been to see a friend of mine. What about you? Are you here alone?"

She looked around and noticed that they were close to a park where some kids were playing tennis.

"I'm here with some friends, Hikaru and Sato," he said glancing over at the park. "We're playing tennis but we're not as good as Seiichi-nii-san yet."

"I don't think many people are as good as your Seiichi-nii-san," Hari said amused. "But I'm sure you're on your way to challenge him nicely."

"Mh-mm!" He nodded. "Can you help us?"

"Me?" Hari asked surprised.

"Yeah! Seiichi-nii-san said you are very good at tennis!" Minoru said excitedly.

Hari arched a brow because she knew Seiichi hadn't really seen her play tennis before and she wasn't sure why she felt a sudden jolt of... what? Pleasure, happiness? Go through her at the younger boy's words.

"I suppose I could stay and help you for a little while," Hari said and glanced at Ryoga who had arched a brow as he looked at her. "Do you want to stay or go home, Ryoga-san?"

Ryoga looked at her searchingly before he looked at Minoru and found a scowling boy looking back at him. He felt his lips twitch and just to annoy the boy he stepped closer to Hari before he answered.

"I'll stay," he said. "I'm quite…curious about this."

Hari gave him a strange look before she shrugged and looked at Minoru who grabbed her hand and started to drag her away chatting avidly as he did so, leaving Ryoga behind.

...

It was rather fun to play tennis with Minoru and his friends, Hari thought as she hit a ball back over the net. Minoru hit the ball back again and smiled happily as he did so. She returned it easily and used a little more force to make the ball go faster.

"Oh," Minoru said as he missed the ball.

"You almost had it," Hari smiled at him, "you just have to work on your footwork so you can move a little faster. You read the direction of the ball correctly so it's only your speed that was a little lacking right now."

He nodded.

"I see," he said. "I will get you next time!"

She smiled and nodded.

"I'm sure," she said and glanced at the clock. "I'm sorry, Minoru-chan, but I have to go home now."

"Okay," Minoru sighed and looked over at Ryoga who was playing with another boy with long blond hair and blue eyes. He had been introduced as Hikaru and as Minoru's best friend. The other friend there, Sato, was sitting on the sideline watching this round having played against Hari the round before.

...

"You're awfully close to her," Minoru scowled up at Ryoga who glanced down at him curiously.

"Oh?" Ryoga arched a brow.

"You should know that she's not yours," Minoru said defiantly and folded his arms over his chest.

Ryoga blinked and glanced over at Hari who was talking to Hikaru and Sato about something and looked like she was enjoying it.

"Why would you say that?" Ryoga asked looking back at Minoru. "Do you like her perhaps?"

Minoru glared at him.

"I don't go after girls that are spoken for," he said.

"And she's spoken for?" Ryoga asked pensively.

"Yes," Minoru nodded. "So you should back off!"

Ryoga smiled amusedly.

"Just who has claimed her?" Ryoga asked tossing his orange back and forth between his hands as his eyes watched Minoru closely. "You seem to know."

Minoru bit down on his lips and looked away.

"I won't tell you," he said stubbornly before he ran over to Hari and claimed her attention and leaving Ryoga to his thoughts.

...

Hari was aware that Ryoga was watching her but she wasn't sure why so she tried to ignore it. Her mind was also a little distracted by the meeting with Minoru and the last thing he had said.

 _Seiichi-nii-san is coming to Tokyo in a couple of days._

She couldn't deny the happiness she felt when she heard that Seiichi was coming back to Tokyo. But why did she feel happy because he was coming to Tokyo? It really shouldn't matter much to her…right? So why had her thoughts mediately jumped to excuses she could make to meet him?

Just because he's coming doesn't mean that he wants to see her, she scolded herself. He hadn't told her that he was coming so maybe he didn't want to see her. He probably had enough to do without making time to see her.

She frowned to herself.

"What's on your mind?" Ryoga asked.

"Eh?" Hari blinked and looked at the older boy who was watching her.

"You suddenly looked depressed," Ryoga said.

"Oh," Hari said looking away from him and rubbed the back of her head self-consciously. "It's nothing. I was just thinking."

Ryoga didn't press the matter and she was grateful for that. She pushed the thoughts about Seiichi away and looked at Ryoga.

"So, are you ready to go home?" she asked.

He gave her a surprised look before he smiled slightly.

"You saw through me, huh?" he said.

She shrugged.

"I guessed you probably felt a little crowded back at the house," she said. "With me, you wouldn't face the same questions and effort to catch up."

He chuckled slightly and tossed the orange up into the air before catching it again.

"You're very observant," he commented before he sighed and looked straight ahead before he spoke again. "I guess I do feel a little…uncomfortable in the house and with them. I don't really know why…"

She nodded.

"I can understand that;" she said quietly. "They really do want to get to know you again, though."

"I suppose so," he said. "I just need a little time to get used to it again. I thought…"

"You thought they didn't want you?" Hari completed his sentence.

"Yeah," he said and looked down at the ground. "My aunt… she never said anything about dad wanting to keep me. I thought he just gave up…"

She looked at him and didn't say anything for a moment considering what to say or if she should say anything at all.

"I met Ryo-chan and Nanjiro and Rinko not too long after you had left," Hari finally said and he glanced at her. "They were in Surrey for some tennis thing and I met Ryo-chan when he was practising tennis near where I was living at the time. He said he was playing so he could meet his brother again someday."

Ryoga stared at her for a moment before he smiled and his posture relaxed more.

"I see," was all he said but she knew he understood.

...

"Hari-chan!"

Hari looked up away from Hira and Sora to see Mizuno coming running toward her.

"Hai? Mizuno-chan?" Hari frowned slightly when she took in the panicked look on his face and the way he had obviously sprinted to find her. "What's wrong?"

"Ryoma….Ryoma…" Mizuno gasped for air but Hari tensed and her eyes sharpened.

"What?" she demanded. "What about Ryo-chan?"

"He…he…" Mizuno still couldn't get the words out.

"Mizuno!" Hari snapped impatiently stepping away from her two friends and toward the younger boy before making an effort to calm down and calm the boy down so he could tell her what was wrong. "Calm down and tell me."

He inhaled deeply and looked at her.

"He is hurt!" Mizuno said. "A boy from another school came and he caused trouble! He beat up Arai-sempai and was bullying Kachiro when Ryoma stepped in and…and the boy hit stones at Ryoma like they were tennis balls!"

Hari paled as she listened but her hands fisted into tight balls as anger quickly filled her.

"Where is Ryo-chan?" She asked.

"He went with the coach at the health room," Mizuno said.

Hari didn't listen to anything more and without saying goodbye to her friends she ran. She ran through the corridors ignoring the startled looks she got from the other students. Why had she lingered behind after class? Why hadn't she made her way directly to the courts for their practice as she should have? If only…

She mentally scolded herself the entire way to the health room. Finally, she was in front of the room and she threw open the door without caring about anything. She saw Ryoma and Ryuzaki inside the otherwise empty room.

"Itee…Itee…Iteee…" Ryoma chanted.

"Ryo-chan!" Hari exclaimed loudly feeling her pulse throb furiously and her eyes were wide and scared as she took in the seated form of her brother. He was already bandaged up, clearly, Ryuzaki had just finished with the bandages.

"Hari-chan," Ryuzaki scolded as she had a hand pressed to her chest. "You scared me! Don't burst into a room like that!"

Hari ignored her and rushed over to Ryoma and started to check him over to find out more about his injuries. She tilted his head and took in the bandage wrapped around his forehead and the bandage on his cheek.

"Are you okay? Does it hurt?" she asked rapidly. "Are you hurt anywhere else? Who did this?"

Ryoma pulled back and grabbed her hands that were reaching for him again in frantic movements.

"Calm down, Hari," he said and squeezed her hands slightly. "I'm fine."

"You don't look fine to me!" Hari protested. "Tell me who did this?"

"That's what I'm trying to find out," Ryuzaki interrupted and Hari glanced at her before looking back at Ryoma who looked stubbornly back at them. "This is pretty severe and I don't believe that you got hurt like this by falling down."

Falling down? That wasn't what Mizuno said… She narrowed her eyes at Ryoma who was now ignoring her (but still held her hands in his and gave them a squeeze) and looked at Ryuzaki.

"I fell," he insisted.

Hari gritted her teeth together to stop the protests she felt ready to burst out because it was clear that Ryoma wasn't going to say anything to the coach and for now she would respect that. At least for now and she would find out what had happened. That was for certain.

Ryuzaki sighed and looked at Hari before looking back at Ryoma.

"Fine," she said. "I can't make you tell me the truth."

She got up.

"You decide what you can do at practice today," she said before leaving the room leaving the two siblings alone.

...

"Ryo-chan," Hari said when they were on their own. "Tell me. What happened?"

"I fell," he said stubbornly.

"I know that's not the truth," Hari scolded him. "Don't lie to me. Mizuno-chan told me a boy from another school hurt you. You tell me what happened or I will find Arai and Kachiro and get them to tell me."

Ryoma was silent for a moment before he sat down and started to explain what had happened. How he had arrived early to practice and had changed and before going to the courts to warm up. How he had heard something and walked over to see what was going on and found Arai and Kachiro on the ground. Arai was beaten up and Kachiro was covered by tennis balls and metal racks.

Hari was scowling as she listened and her eyes flashed dangerously as Ryoma explained how he had stepped in and the boy had been there looking for him. He had first hit one stone at him with his tennis racket but Ryoma had stopped it, but he froze. Then the boy had hit five stones at once…

"And I still froze and couldn't stop them;" Ryoma finished.

"Who was he?" Hari asked in a dangerously low voice. So unlike herself that he glanced at her almost warily.

"It's fine," Ryoma said. "I'll deal with him myself."

"Ryoma," she said and stared at him.

His name. Not the nickname. That wasn't good, Ryoma thought as he wondered what to say. The truth was, he did know who the boy was but he had kept the name back on purpose because he didn't want Hari to do something stupid. But with the way she was looking at him and the tone of voice…

"Akutsu Jin," Ryoma finally said quietly.

"I see," Hari said and got up.

Her eyes softened as she looked at Ryoma and before he could say anything she hugged him and he could feel her tremble slightly against him and he put his arms around her. Hugging her back tightly knowing that she needed the comfort. Honestly, he needed it himself.

...

"Is it just me or have Inui-sempai gone crazy about our training ever since he came back from Ginka?" Horio panted as they ran laps around the courts.

"He and Yoshida-san are concerned about Ginka's training," Momoshiro answered glancing behind him to see the freshmen trio running and was mildly impressed that they still were keeping up.

"Are Ginka really that strong?" Horio asked.

Momoshiro wasn't that sure about that. But Inui and Yoshida had both been insistent that they had to step up their training before their match because when the two had gone to watch them they had found the entire team spread across the court completely worn out from what looked like a very hard practice.

Hence the torturous amount of laps they were ordered to run.

He glanced to the side to see Ryoma coming up beside him with a smile on his face like he wasn't even tired. The show-off, Momoshiro scoffed to himself before he looked to see Hari follow her brother like a shadow and a serious look on her face.

She hadn't smiled once since joining their practice. She had been silent even as Kikumaru had been cheerful in his greeting and clearly overjoyed in seeing the two siblings together again after their fight. Hari had just shrugged and pushed him away before going to start her warm-ups.

Momoshiro had noticed Tezuka watching Hari with a sharp look but she ignored him as well as she stayed close to Ryoma. Ryoma seemed resigned to this and didn't say anything or question it. It wasn't that hard to guess the reason why. He looked at the bandages on Ryoma's face. The boy was stubbornly keeping to his story that he fell, but they all knew it wasn't the truth and Momoshiro was ready to bet his favourite tennis racket and his bike that Hari knew this as well and was planning her revenge.

"Water time!" Inui called out and Momoshiro grabbed a cup of water that was placed on the table and drank it down greedily.

He paused when he heard the groans from behind him and looked to see several people lying on the ground clutching their throats as she dry-heaved and groaned. It looked like they were dying…

His eyes widened as he looked at Inui who had an evil smirk on his face holding up a cup. No… he couldn't mean… No….

"Anyone who doesn't finish a lap in 1 minute will have to drink this," Inui said.

"What is it?"

"I call it," he started and tilted the cup he was holding and something thick and red poured out…. Momoshiro didn't want to think about what it was… "Penal tea."

"Great," Hari muttered sarcastically but otherwise didn't show any reaction in contrast to the horror-struck expressions on the others faces.

Inui was evil!

Momoshiro was sure. Inui was the evilest person in this school! Possibly in the entire world!

He wasn't going to drink it! No way!

...

They ran.

And they ran…

No one wanted to stop and have to drink the Penal tea.

Ryuzaki smirked as she watched the team run and her eyes took in Hari who was keeping pace with the regulars. She was the only non-regular left and she was in the lead with Ryoma beside her. Ryuzaki had a feeling that she could probably be further ahead but was purposely keeping pace with the younger boy.

She moved her eyes away from the girl that had been quiet since arriving at the practice and to the fallen members of the tennis club, most still groaning about the penal tea. She could understand that. She was just glad that she didn't have to drink it. She shuddered. How Inui actually liked that stuff was beyond her.

"It's their 30th lap!" Horio said stunned from the ground.

"Awesome…" Kachiro said.

"Even Hari-chan is keeping up with them…"Mizuno said.

Ryuzaki smiled and glanced at Inui.

"They really don't want to drink that tea," she commented.

"This is the last lap," he said and smirked making her feel worried for her regulars (and Hari). "So, I'm bringing out the secret weapon."

He held up a large pitcher of the penal tea before he called out:

"This is for the last one to cross the line!"

...

It turned out to be a close race and Hari watched them run. She didn't bother trying to keep pace with them as she looked at Ryoma. He looked happy as he competed with the others despite the bandages on his face. She felt guilty as she looked at them.

Though she could feel slight amusement as Ryoma gave Kawamura a racket and he bust with flames and yells of BURNING! Causing chaos in the group and Ryoma using the older boy to get past the others.

She watched from behind that they finished as one before she jogged over the line last. She stopped and leaned forward slightly to catch her breath.

"You were last," Inui was suddenly in front of her with the large pitcher with the red Penal tea.

"No! Not Hari-chan!" Kikumaru yelled.

"No!"

"Hari-chan!"

Hari ignored them as she stared at Inui with a blank look on her face. He smirked at her and she sighed as she grabbed the pitcher. She remembered how the regulars had reacted to the Juice Inui had given them last time and wondered if this was as bad as that…

"You meany!" Kikumaru yelled as he looked at Hari-chan with tears in his eyes. "Inui! To make Hari-chan drink it!"

Hari lifted the pitcher to her lips and started to drink. She decided to just take it in one go and poured it down her throat.

Everyone watched as she drank and drank before she finally lowered the pitcher and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

It wasn't exactly good. She wouldn't say that, but…she had tasted worse and this was far better than most potions she'd ever had during her time at Hogwarts. The Skele-Grow, for instance, …that was nasty. This was nothing to that.

"Hm," she said and looked at Inui. "I was expecting worse."

He gave her a curious look as he accepted the pitcher back while the others were silent for a long moment.

"WHAT?!"

Hari looked at them before looking around the ground to see several of the team still lying down and looking half-dead like it was the first time noticing them. She blinked and tilted her head.

"What?" she asked confused.

"You seriously can stand like you didn't just drink a whole pitcher of that stuff?" Kikumaru exclaimed shocked. "Only Fujiko does that!"

Hari glanced at Fuji who smiled and then she looked back at Kikumaru.

"Eh? It's not that bad," she insisted. "Sure, a little spicy and strange but overall I've had worse."

They stared at her like she was crazy and despite her worry and anger toward a certain someone, she felt a spark of amusement go through her as she took in their various expressions.

 **...**

 **...**

 **AN:** **What do you think? :)**

 **Hope you liked it! XD Thank you for reading and supporting the story.**

 **Do you want a look at the magical community back in Britain in the next chapter? ;) If so, I might add something ;)**

 **Japanese words used:**  
 **Nande - Why**  
 **Daijobu - Alright**  
 **Aniki - Older brother**  
 **Ie - No**  
 **Tadaima - I'm home**  
 **Oyaji - Dad/old man**  
 **Nii-san - Brother**  
 **Saa - Filler**  
 **Naruhodo - I see**  
 **Mochiron - Of course**  
 **Hai - Yes**  
 **Itee - Ouch**


	24. Revenge

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Prince of Tennis!**

 **...**

 **...**

 **England/Scotland**

...

Mr John Granger was a quiet man. He never spoke much and had a thoughtful and calm air around him that worked very well with the profession he had as a dentist. His demeanour couldn't help but reassure his patients and make them calm and give them a feeling of safety as they took their place in his chair.

He had often been thought of as a weak man or too soft, but that was not true. He knew what he wanted from life and he was content with what he got. When he felt something was wrong he did something about it. Despite his father's wishes for him to become a lawyer or a doctor he had refused and became a dentist. It suited him much better.

He had met his wife, Jane Granger nee Stewart, at school and they had married the year they finished and started their practice together. A couple of years later they had a daughter, Hermione, and from the first moment Mr Granger had looked at her he had been lost. She was the pride in his heart. The brilliant mind of hers would take her places he couldn't even imagine.

Not to mention the magic part. Now, that had been a surprise. To learn that the strange things she did as a child was magic had been a shock for him and his wife. They had accepted it, though. It just made Hermione even more special.

The only thing he didn't like about the magic part was the fact that he sometimes felt like he was losing his daughter. Losing her to a world he never could be a part of and to people who were like her in ways he and his wife were not. It didn't stop him from bragging about his daughter in those rare occasions he felt like it to his patients or friends. How she was the top of her year at the boarding school for the _gifted_ for example. His friends had those patronising looks when he would talk about her though, and he felt frustrated that they didn't see the same things he did when he looked at his little girl.

But unfortunately, Hermione had always been…different from the other kids growing up. Her love of books and knowledge along with the strange things happening around her from time to time kept the other kids away from her. It didn't matter how many playdates they set up for her, she was always left on her own.

It had worried him when he sent her off to Hogwarts. How was he supposed to protect her when she was so far away from him? The first few letters from her did nothing to ease his mind. It was clear that she was as alone as she always had been. The hope that they had magic in common to bind them together crashed down around his feet.

But then… one day right after Halloween he got two letters. One was from the school telling them that Hermione and two other students had purposely gone after a troll and tried (and managed!) to stop it themselves. He had to take a moment to process the fact that trolls were real and that his 12-year-old daughter had met one! But trolls couldn't be that dangerous, could they? If three 11/12 year-olds could handle it? Right?

But it was the other letter that had calmed his heart. It was from Hermione. It was such a different letter than anyone she had ever written to them before and had been delivered by a beautiful snowy owl named Hedwig according to Hermione's letter.

 _I made two friends! I finally have two friends and they are really kind and nice to me! They don't laugh at me. Their names are Harriett Lily Potter, but she wants to be called Hari, and Ronald Weasley, he wants to be called Ron._

 _Hari is known as the Girl Who Lived because she survived when a Dark Wizard tried to kill her when she was a baby, but she doesn't like her fame though. I can understand that…I would rather have my parents than be famous because he killed them and failed to kill me. She's really nice, though. She always did smile at me even before when I was a little…stuck up because of the rules. She even had Lavender change beds with her and now we have the beds next to each other in the dorm! It's great!_

 _Ron is a little loud and can say something mean before he really thinks but I know he doesn't mean it. He's always quick to apologize, though, if he says something mean. He stopped a boy from our class today from teasing me. He has five older brothers and one little sister. She starts school next year. I wonder what it would have been like to have so many siblings? Hari does too…_

The letter had continued like that for the most part and he had felt reassured that she finally had found someone who would be there with her.

Yet, the magical world wasn't just great. Mr Granger had learned that the hard way when they got the notice that Hermione had been hurt and petrified. It didn't help that they hadn't learned about this until the end of the year when Hermione had been healed and back to herself again. They didn't even have the chance to see their daughter while she was hurt and what kind of school didn't contact the guardians when their kid was hurt?

Something fishy was going on and he didn't like it. No, he didn't like it at all. But he hadn't pulled her out because Hermione had begged him not to and she didn't want to lose her friends. She wouldn't, couldn't, leave Hari and Ron.

With a heavy heart Mr Granger allowed her to continue onto her third year and now her best friend, Hari, was suspended because of an escaped prisoner and being blamed for him escaping from Hogwarts. Just how did a mass-murderer even get into the school and close to three students in the first place?

He and his wife had protested against the three of them getting suspended for something that never should have been allowed to happen in the first place. They never should have been allowed to get near someone dangerous like Sirius Black. If he was a mass murderer like they claimed then how could they blame three third-year students for him escaping? He must be much stronger and capable than them, and who knew what he had threatened them with.

He knew Mr and Mrs Weasley also had protested something fierce and he honestly hoped he never was on the wrong end of Mrs Weasley because that woman seriously had a pair of lungs…

In the end, Ron and Hermione hadn't been suspended. But Hari had been. It didn't matter what he or the Weasley's said. The Minister remained set on suspending her. They laid the blame on Hari for dragging Hermione and Ron with her into danger.

Ridiculous.

Even Mr Granger knew that was weak, but unfortunately, nothing he said or the Weasley's said would change the Minister's mind and Hari was suspended.

Hermione and Ron were both distraught with guilt and Mr Granger knew that they would join Hari in punishment if they could, but Hari had told them she was happy they didn't get suspended and that she was happy to take the blame herself.

Mr Granger had seen the sincerity in Hari's eyes and the brave smile she had given both Hermione and Ron before she was guided out of the headmaster office by a stern looking McGonagall. He couldn't help but be impressed by the girl.

Then a few weeks ago he had gotten a letter from Hermione where she was almost hysterical and pleading for help. Apparently, Hari was now missing and had resigned from Hogwarts, something no one had seen coming. Hermione said that Hari had sent a letter to Professor Dumbledore resigning and when they went to look for her, they found an empty house and no sign of Hari or her aunt and uncle.

And that was where he came in.

...

Mr Granger had spent time in finding them. It was a little more complicated than he liked but he had eventually managed to get a new address from Grunnings, the company Vernon Dursley worked for, by stating that he was a friend of the family and that they had lost touch since he had been abroad, of course, he hadn't been, but if the lie would get him closer to his daughter's best friend he would tell the lie again. He had met Hari Potter a few times and found her to be a quiet and nice girl, shy around new people but caring.

Well, now he had found them and had taken a day off work to go and see the Dursley's in Liverpool. Their new home.

...

"Have you heard anything from Miss Potter?"

Hermione hid a sigh as they were asked again and she heard Ron shift a little on his feet next to her in exaggeration. She knew he was equally tired of being asked this.

"No, professor," Hermione said and looked up at Dumbledore who was watching them closely.

"You know we need to find her for her own safety," the headmaster said.

"Yes, sir," Ron said blankly.

"I find it very hard to believe that the girl hasn't contacted you in any way," Snape's voice sneered.

Hermione fisted her hands while Ron glared at their potion professor.

"Well, if…" Ron started but Hermione elbowed him making him cut himself off and just continue to glare.

"We have tried to send her letters, but they have been returned unopened," Hermione said calmly and kept her eyes on Dumbledore and was that guilt in his eyes she saw? It was gone so quickly that she wasn't sure she had even seen it.

"I see," Dumbledore said.

"So you have no clue on where Hari is?" Ron asked an almost desperate note was in his tone now.

"I'm afraid not," Dumbledore finally answered.

Hermione was worried and she was not sure she should be happy or not over the fact that they hadn't found Hari yet. What if she was in trouble and was waiting for them to find her and save her? What if some of Voldemort's old supporters had taken her?

She pushed the fear away reminding herself that Hari had sent a letter resigning from school. She wouldn't do that if she had been kidnapped. At least that was what Hermione was trying to convince herself of. When Dumbledore dismissed them she grabbed Ron's arm and dragged him toward the door.

...

"I can't believe that he stands there and pretends that he's looking for Hari," Ron snapped as soon as they entered the common room again.

"I know, Ron," Hermione sighed tiredly and glanced around to see the looks sent their way (like normal these days) before she guided Ron to a quiet corner of the room where they could be by themselves. "I don't like it either."

"If not for Snape she wouldn't even have been suspended and they wouldn't have to look for her," Ron said annoyed. "And now he's acting like he's out there looking for her when everyone knows he has been trying to get her out of this school from the day she entered!"

"I'm sure he…" Hermione started but she was cut off but Ron.

"Don't start, Hermione!" he snapped. "He hated James Potter and he hates Hari because of it! Dumbledore is just blind to see it."

Hermione sighed and looked out of the window overlooking the school grounds. She missed walking through the grounds with Hari at her side; she missed their talks and their laughs. When was the last time she had laughed? She couldn't even remember…

"You haven't heard anything from your dad, have you?" Ron asked quietly.

Hermione glanced over at her remaining best friend and saw the hope in his light blue eyes. She sighed and shook her head.

"Not yet," she said. "But hopefully he will find something."

Ron nodded and sank back into his chair.

"The school year is almost over," he said.

"I know," Hermione nodded. "I look forward to it."

"Oh? What's this I hear?" Another voice sounded and Hermione looked up to see Fred and George Weasley coming up behind them. It was Fred who had talked.

"Hermione Granger saying…" George smirked.

"…she looks forward to school being over?" Fred finished with an identical smirk.

"I must be imagining things…" George proclaimed dramatically.

"Dreaming!"

"Hallucinating!"

"Oh shut up!" Hermione snapped at them impatiently but she felt her lips twitch slightly amused.

Fred and George grinned at her before they sat down and looked at them.

"So, have you been summoned to old Dumbledore again?" George asked.

"Yes," Ron muttered.

"So, still no news about Hari," Fred sighed and looked serious for a moment. "I wonder where she is."

"Me too," Ginny said as she joined them. "Mum is frantic with worry."

"She's not alone," Ron said and glanced at Hermione.

"Just what happened?" Ginny asked looking at the two. "Just why would they say that she helped Black to escape?"

...

Hermione glanced at Ginny and the twins and saw them looking at them with a serious look on their faces. Any trace of a joke was gone from Fred and George's faces for once and it almost looked…wrong.

They had not told anyone what had really happened that night. Not even these three and she was not sure that they should say anything at all. This was Hari's secret.

"Not any of your business," Ron said sharply.

Clearly he shared her view of this.

"Oh? We're here worrying about her," Ginny said coldly. "I would say it is our business."

"Yeah," the twins nodded.

"It's not our secret to tell and we won't reveal Hari's secrets to anyone," Hermione said in a tone that said that their minds were made up.

She felt their eyes on her but was relieved when they backed off and just grunted something but she couldn't catch what it was.

"Do you know what's being done to find her?" Fred asked changing the subject.

Hermione and Ron exchanged a look before looking over at the others.

"No," Hermione shook her head. "I'm sure they are making inquiries and trying to track her movements since going back to her aunt and uncle."

"It shouldn't be that difficult, should it?" Ginny wondered. "I mean with magic…"

Hermione shrugged and looked away again.

"Hermione?" George's voice made her look at him to find him looking at her with a pensive look on his face.

"I think that if Hari wanted to…hide she could do it," Hermione said quietly. "Especially since she has grown up in the muggle world and most witches and wizards are useless in the muggle world."

"So we should look in the muggle world?" Ginny asked.

Ron and Hermione exchanged looks again.

"You two knows something," Fred stated. "What is it?"

"We…"

"Tell us!" George snapped. "We're worried about Hari too! We want to help find her and make sure she's safe! She's our little sister too!"

Fred looked at his twin before he looked back at Ron and Hermione.

"Like my good twin said; we care about Hari as well and want to help," he said more calmly than his brother but still with urgency in his voice, "so if you have something planned we want to help."

Hermione sighed and glanced at Ron who nodded in agreement. He knew what she was asking.

"We're not really doing anything right now," Hermione said after a moment. "I just…I asked my dad for help. He's making some inquiries in the Muggle world on his own and will let me know if he finds anything."

...

 **Seigaku**

...

Hari petted Hedwig's feathers as she thought. She had gone straight to her room when she came back from school and was now thinking about what to do next. There was no way she was going to allow that boy getting away with hurting her little brother like that.

But how could she get back at him. She knew she could not exactly just walk up to him and start a fight. For one, she didn't really believe that violence solved anything. Second, she was a girl and however strong she might be he was sure to be stronger. Annoying as it was, but she had to accept the facts. It wasn't like she could use her magic in a fight, so…it was out.

So she had to find another way to do it. Another way to let him know that messing with Ryoma was not acceptable and she was not going to stand back and just watch it happen.

Hedwig hooted and she smiled slightly as she met the intelligent yellow eyes.

"You know what to do about a boy who needs to learn his place?" Hari asked.

Hedwig hooted again and Hari laughed.

"Yeah, maybe I should let you loose on him…" Hari said and blinked. That would be amusing, she thought.

She let out a slightly frustrated huff before she straightened and looked toward her trunk. She moved over to it and pulled the top open and looked inside. She ignored the magic books and looked for a small box that she had almost forgotten was there.

She found it tucked under her invisibility cloak and Marauder's Map. Her hands lingered over the map for a moment before she gave in and pulled it out along with the box.

She sat down at the bed and pulled out her wand as she tapped the map and said:

"I solemnly swear I'm up to no good."

She watched as the map started to spread out on the parchment and smiled as she read the names, Prongs, Padfoot and Moony (she ignored Wormtail completely).

She searched the map and took a moment to remember the time difference. That meant that since it was still morning for them and they probably were just starting with the classes.

As she searched the different classrooms (she couldn't remember what class they would have now) she came over several names of people she knew and missed.

George Weasley.

Fred Weasley.

She smiled as she noticed that they were seated at the back of the classroom and Lee Jordan was seated right in front of them with Angelina Johnson. She wondered if they were planning a prank.

She moved on and saw the name Luna Lovegood next to Ginevra Weasley. Hari lingered for a moment by the names and wondered if Ginny was alright and happy. Even Luna. She had met her earlier that year on one of her private wanderings and found the girl very unique and interesting.

With a sigh she moved on again and finally she found the names she had been searching for. They had Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall.

Ronald Weasley.

Hermione Granger.

Hari traced the names with her finger and noticed that they were seated at the back of the classroom. That was… odd. Hermione always tried to sit in the front during transfiguration because she loved that subject and Professor McGonagall was her favourite professor. So why were they sitting at the back?

A frown marred her face as she stared at the names of her two best friends. Oh, how she missed them. If only she could send Hedwig, but… it was such a long journey and she really didn't want Hedwig to have to fly that far… And…what if Dumbledore saw her? He could track her on the way back and find her.

No, the risk was too big.

But…how she wished. She really wanted to see if their friendship really was as strong as she believed it to be or if they really just cared about the Girl-Who-Lived part of her. She needed to know. She was still upset over the lack of letters during the time she had spent with the Dursley's. Did they blame her for the trouble they got in?

With a frustrated sigh and a shake of the head, she wiped the map again and pushed it away from her. She really shouldn't be thinking about this. It would only make her sad.

She pushed the thoughts about her friends out of her mind for now and pulled opened the box and smiled as she saw the prank supplies inside. She had gotten it from Fred and George at Christmas and hadn't gotten a chance to use it yet.

She knew she couldn't use the obvious magical pranks but there must be something inside that she could use.

...

"Inui-sempai!" Hari called and the taller teen turned and looked at her curiously.

"Hari-chan?" he asked. "My data won't tell me why you have searched me out."

Hari smiled amused but didn't comment on it.

"I need your help," she said.

"My help?" Inui repeated surprised. "With what?"

"Your special juice," Hari said.

"Ah, you want some more?" he asked looking delighted. "You must have seen the benefit of my penal tea!"

Hari wasn't sure she should burst his bubble of happiness or not.

"Kind of," she said vaguely. "Could you give me some?"

He looked at her for a moment before he nodded.

"Sure," he said. "I'm working on something stronger now. I'm curious to see how you will handle that next time."

Hari kept her face in polite interest but mentally wondered if she might have gotten herself into something she shouldn't have.

...

"What do you have planned?" Fuji asked as he came up beside Hari.

Hari glanced at him and was silent for a moment. She wondered if she should be upset with him or not, he had told Ryoma about her new move when she had asked him not to. Though, it was what had helped them make up after their fight.

"Who says I have something planned?" Hari finally asked innocently as she decided against being upset with him.

"The look on your face," Fuji smiled his signature eye-closed-smile. "You look like you're planning world domination."

Hari snorted.

"Nothing that large," Hari shrugged.

Fuji looked at her for a moment before he looked away.

"I'm sorry I told Echizen about your new move," he said.

Hari glanced at him and smiled slightly.

"It's alright," she said. "I was upset at first but I know you only did it to help."

Fuji nodded.

"I'm glad you talked," he said and she smiled.

"So, how are things going with Yuta-chan?" Hari asked.

"He's talking to me at least," Fuji said with a smile and Hari chuckled.

"Aw, look at that smile," Hari teased and he mocked glared at her. "I'm glad, though."

Fuji nodded.

...

So much white. There was so much white… white was everywhere.

Hari looked around in something akin to horror in her eyes as she took in the white building that was the Yamabuki Junior High, the white uniforms on the students and was that a white path that leads up to the school?

Ugh, where was the colour?

She shook herself as she tried to focus on her objective. Finding Akutsu Jin and pay him back for everything he did to Ryoma. She had her invisibility cloak on so all she had to worry about was colliding into someone, but she would be careful.

She moved quietly through the school and hoped that he would be at tennis practice because if not she wasn't sure where to look for him. She moved around the school and somehow found the tennis courts without getting lost.

Ha, Ryo-chan! Look at that! I can find something without getting lost, Hari thought to herself.

She could see that the practice was going on and her eyes eventually found the one she was looking for. Her hands fisted under her cloak and she itched to march over there to yell at him but right now wasn't the time.

She felt a little bad about spying on their practice. She really didn't want to do that, but… she had to observe Akutsu so she decided to never say a word about what she learned by observing her target. She wouldn't pay attention to what the others were doing.

She moved closer as she watched Akutsu put his water bottle down and bark something at a tiny looking first year who smile back at him seemingly unaffected by the hard voice from Akutsu.

Hari scowled but at the same time cast a curious look at the tiny first year. His navy blue hair and green headband kind of reminded her of Seiichi but it was only a fleeting resemblance.

Hari looked at them.

It was important that she made her move at the right time.

Deciding that they were in the middle of the practice she made her way toward the locker rooms and found the door unlocked. She slipped inside and closed the door behind her. She could feel the adrenaline pulse through her as she looked around.

Now, where were his things?

She dismissed several bags until she found one and was smirked at her luck. His name was stitched inside the bag. She briefly wondered who had done it before she pushed the thought away.

She looked at the uniform hanging up and pulled out her wand. Oh, so happy she was that the trace was gone from it…

She stubbornly pushed away any second thoughts as Ryoma's face flashed in her mind. Bruised and bloodied.

She muttered the spell before she slipped back outside and closed the door.

She moved back to the courts to find them still going on, but that wasn't surprising because she had only been gone between five to ten minutes.

She pulled out her Penal Tea given to her by Inui and sneaked over to the water bottles. This was going to be tricky. To exchange the bottles without anyone noticing.

She looked around and noticed the first year close by before he walked away when someone called him and she noticed that they were gathering around the coach now. He looked to be an old man but she didn't pay him any attention.

She looked around again before she made the swap.

With that she backed away and moved to the corner of the school and waited.

...

Akutsu scowled as he was forced to listen to the coach. He glared at the old man and cursed the fact that he had dragged him to practice when he really wanted to go and find Echizen Hari. She had been the one he had really looked for last time but had only found Echizen Ryoma instead.

Well, it was fun to play with him as well. So it hadn't been a complete waste of time, but he was curious about this girl he had seen play against Ginka and win. The way she had smirked and seemed so confident.

He couldn't wait to try to take it away and see how she reacted to him.

Instead, he was cornered into attending this waste of time practice. Just because the tournament was happening soon. So meaningless.

He scoffed when the Captain said something and before the coach even dismissed them he had turned and was walking away. Maybe he could still find Echizen Hari somewhere and see what kind of girl she was…

He smirked.

He grabbed the water bottle and distractedly took a deep drag from the bottle before he froze and the bottle dropping to the ground opening by the force and something thick and red spilt across the ground.

His mouth exploded in what must be the worst taste ever invented! It was like it was evolving as the thick unidentified _mass_ forced itself down his throat unstoppable and unmovable.

He felt sick.

He could already feel the cold sweat breaking out over his face and he was sure he had paled or turned blue.

He spat, he chocked and then he spat some more.

"Blegh!"

The rest of the team had stopped and was staring at him with wide horrified eyes as he spat and jumped around.

"W-a-t-e-r…" he gasped and grabbed for the nearest person who happened to be Minami Kentaro, the Captain.

"What's going on?" Minami asked.

"What's he carrying on about?" Sengoku asked in what Akutsu was sure was a much to cheerful voice but right now he didn't even have the energy to glare at the happy-go-lucky guy.

"Water…" he hissed.

"Here," Dan said hurriedly and pushed a bottle into his hand and Akutsu drank and drank but despite the water now running down through his throat the taste festered in his mouth.

He collapsed gasping to the ground while his team stared at him.

"What's with you?" Minami asked.

Akutsu groaned.

"Do you need the nurse?" Dan asked worriedly.

Akutsu shook his head.

...

"That thing…" he gritted out through his teeth when he had managed to gather his breath and stopped the involuntary chocking and spitting some ten minutes later. "That thing…"

"What thing?" Dan asked the only one lingering close to him as the others had gone to their finishing exercises for the practice.

Akutsu pushed himself up and looked at the dropped bottle and the red mass (there was no other way to describe it) that was spilt on the ground.

"What was that?!" Akutsu growled fiercely. "WHO PUT THAT IN MY BOTTLE?!"

Dan blinked at him and then looked at the red thing with wide eyes.

"I don't know…" he said.

"When I find the one who did this…" Akutsu gritted out and glared at the team who was now finishing up and coming closer. They paused when they saw the glare he directed at them and looked wary.

"No one here did it," Minami spoke up and he was calm as usual and Akutsu just glared at him but he was one of the few he wasn't all that affected by his glare.

Akutsu turned and stalked toward the locker room with the others following behind him a few steps behind.

He threw the door opened and marched over to his spot before he froze. Again.

There on his spot was a pink uniform with purple dots hanging up where his uniform had been hanging. It was the most horrific sight he had ever seen and he couldn't even start to think on how to describe it.

"NANI?!" He yelled.

The rest of the team had gone quiet. Again. They were staring at the uniform with wide eyes.

Akutsu grabbed it and looked at the tag inside and saw his name written there like it should but again shouldn't because…because this couldn't be his!

What was going on?

Who could have done this?

Could silence be loud?

Because it was like the silence inside the locker room was very loud as they all stared at the pink, purple dotted uniform with disbelieving eyes.

Then…Sengoku burst out laughing loud and cheerful. It seemed to be triggering the others who also laughed but they tried not to as they cast wary and worried looks at Akutsu who looked like he was about to explode.

"WHO DID THIS?! WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?!"

...

Hari laughed as she heard the loud exclamation and knew he had seen her gift to him. She was lucky there was no one around right then because if so they would have heard laughter coming from the empty air.

She quickly got control of herself as she smirked to herself.

That would show him not to mess with her little brother!

...

Hari was practically skipping for the next couple of days and couldn't help the random smiles that crossed her face. Honestly, she was starting to freak Ryoma and Ryoga out as they watched her suddenly start laughing to herself.

"Wonder what she's up to…" Ryoma muttered eying her warily.

"What could she be up to?" Ryoga asked his brother.

"Oh, you don't know Hari as I do," Ryoma said grimly. "She can be really…vindictive if she chose to and when she looks like that…"

He shuddered.

"Hai?"

"The last time she had pranked someone and you do not want to know what she did…" Ryoma said wisely.

"You think she has pranked someone?" Ryoga asked curiously.

"Oh, yeah…" Ryoma nodded. "Dare ga omou …"

Ryoga nodded.

"I hope it's not us…" Ryoga said.

Ryoma stilled and then looked around himself suddenly wary.

"Me to…"

...

"You looked happy," Nanjiro smiled.

"Saa?" Hari looked at him innocently. "Me?"

"Yeah, you," Nanjiro nodded with a smile. "What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything," Hari denied. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Sure you don't," Nanjiro laughed. "I hope you took pictures, Hari-chan."

Hari grinned at him with a mysterious smile as she waved at the man and left the house.

...

"I demand to know who did this!"

Hari looked up from where she had been warming up and saw Akutsu Jin standing there at the edge of the court glaring around at them. He was holding up his pink and purple dotted uniform (unfortunately he had gotten a new one and was wearing a clean and white uniform now).

"What are you talking about, Akutsu?" Kawamura asked confused.

Momoshiro took one glance at the uniform and laughed with Kikumaru soon following.

"This! I found this a couple of days ago in the locker room after practice!" Akutsu growled. "And someone changed my water bottle with a bottle with something really terrible to drink."

Hari worked to keep her face blank as she felt Ryoma and Fuji look at her as she stared blankly at Akutsu. His cheeks were red in his anger as his eyes were narrow and glaring at them all.

"That sounds…awful, but what makes you think that someone here has done it?" Hari asked in a calm and bored voice.

His eyes found her as she straightened up and looked at him. Her face didn't betray anything as she watched him.

"I've been working my way through…suspects," he said. "This is the last place."

Hari shrugged.

"Still, doesn't mean that anyone here did it," she said.

His hands were fisted as he stalked over to her and stopped right in front of her. She was aware that Kawamura, Fuji and Ryoma all stepped closer to her and everyone had tensed.

"The others didn't do it," he said. "They would have spilt their guts just out of fear… they were all weak…. But you…."

Hari arched a brow.

"Me?" she asked.

"You're different…" Akutsu said silently. "You could do this."

Silence spread through the team and Hari thought they could hear a pin drop.

"That's some serious accusations, Akutsu-san," Hari said. "You don't have any proof for that."

He glared at her and reached over to grab her shoulder but before he could his hand was snatched and he was pulled back.

Hari had expected it to be Fuji or Ryoma to do it but it was Kawamura. The quiet and kind boy was now standing between her and Akutsu and had pushed him back. From what Hari could see of Kawamura's face he was looking very grave.

"Back off, Akutsu!" Kawamura barked at him. "I told you to stay away from my team."

"I'm going to pay her back for what she did!" Akutsu growled at him.

"You can't prove that she did anything!" Kawamura argued. "Stay away from Hari-chan."

Hari blinked a little surprised by the unexpected interference.

"I know she did it," Akutsu said, "no one else could have. I see it in her eyes. She did it."

Before Kawamura could say anything else Hari stepped up next to him and looked at Akutsu.

"There's no proof," Hari said again and her eyes turned a kind of frigid cold that almost seemed to spark as they locked onto the taller boy. "But you… you will regret hurting my little brother. You hurt Ryo-chan and if you ever get close to hurt him again I will make you regret ever being close to him. No one hurt my little brother and gets away with it. Let that be your warning, A-k-u-t-s-u-s-a-n."

With that she turned around and walked away before she snapped and used her magic in front of all these muggles. She could feel her magic bursting under her skin and she had to get control over herself again.

To see that boy so close to Ryoma and be reminded of how he had hurt him, how he had made him bleed. Well, that was not going to happen again. She swore to it.

 **...**

 **...**

 **AN:** **What do you think? XD**

 **Hope you liked it. I hope you liked Hari's revenge on Akutsu! I felt like a prank (or two) would be something Hari would do in order to get revenge. Not to say that she's done, but we'll see if she has to do something more ;) I have something planned for the next chapter regarding, Akutsu, Hari and Seiichi. That's the only teaser you'll get ;) Hehe.**

 **I hope you liked the peek at what Ron and Hermione are up to. Also, I had this idea of having Hermione's parents more involved in this. That's why it's Hermione's dad that is looking for the Dursley's and not anyone else. XD**

 **Thank you for reading and supporting this story! If you have questions or any feedback do not hesitate to let me know ;)**

 **Japanese words used:**  
 **Nani - What**  
 **Hai - Yes**  
 **Dare ga omou - Wonder who**  
 **Saa - filler**


	25. Saeki - Seiichi

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Prince of Tennis!**

 **...**

 **...**

"I wished I could go to Chiba," Hari sighed as she sank down at the floor of An's room.

"Why can't you?" An asked looking over at her.

"Nanjiro and Rinko told me that I can't use the trains since I keep getting lost," Hari pouted.

An giggled making Hari mock glare at her.

"It's not funny," Hari whined.

"It kind of is," An smiled. "But does that mean that you haven't seen your Saeki in a while?"

Hari frowned as she looked up at a mischievous looking An.

"He's not 'my' Saeki," she protested and felt…different from before. But what was it that felt different?

"Of course not," An smirked teasingly flipping a page in the book she was looking at. "And you do not want to see him again."

Hari was full out frowning now as she looked at her friend. She did want to see Saeki, but it was because she wanted to get more help with her technique. She had reached a step where she was stuck and she was in need of help.

Of course, seeing Saeki again would be great. She liked his company but… the fluttering feeling in her stomach was not there as she thought about seeing him again. Her brows furrowed as she took in the realisation but at the same time not understanding what it meant.

She liked Saeki.

Right?

But then Seiichi's face flashed in her mind and she remembered Minoru telling her that Seiichi was coming to Tokyo. Actually, he should be here now if the younger boy was correct.

"-ri-chan? Hari-chan?" A hand waved in front of her eyes making her blink and saw An giving her a curious look. "Where did you disappear to?"

Hari shrugged and smiled as she pushed her thoughts out of her mind for now. She pushed her hair back behind her ear as she did so.

"Just thinking," she dismissed the question. "What about you? Do you have a boy you like?"

An blushed and looked away making Hari grin.

"You do," she cheered. "Who?"

An blushed even more and sat back at the bed trying to avoid looking at Hari who was grinning.

"No one," An protested.

"Right. Even I see that's a lie," Hari said with a look. "Come on, An-chan! Tell me."

An still didn't say anything and folded her hands over her chest and refused to look at Hari.

"An-chan! An-chan! Tell me! Please…."

Hari jumped up on the bed next to her friend and threw her arms around the other girl as she widened her eyes and pouted.

An glanced at her and Hari could see her break and soon she was giggling.

"Fine," An laughed and pushed Hari away. Hari allowed herself to be pushed away and leaned against the wall behind the bed and watched An with a curious look on her face. "I'll tell you."

"Ma?" Hari smiled.

"Momoshiro," An said with a blush.

"Momo-chan?" Hari grinned. "I was sure you would say Kamio."

An blinked at her and shook her head.

"Kamio is just a friend," An said, "he's almost like an older brother. Like Kippei-nii-san."

Hari nodded.

"So, do you plan on telling Momo-chan?" Hari asked curiously.

An shrugged and eyed Hari.

"Are you going to tell Saeki?" she asked back.

Hari frowned.

"Don't think so," she said. "I'm not sure if I like him like that anymore."

An arched a brow. "Oh?"

Hari sighed. "I haven't seen him in a while and…I don't really think about him as I did anymore. I…"

She was thinking about Seiichi instead.

"Are you thinking about someone else?" An asked catching on to her thoughts.

Hari groaned slightly as she leaned her head back against the wall and closed her eyes.

"Shirimasen," she admitted. "I'm really confused."

An look at her for a moment and hummed thoughtfully before she jumped up and Hari almost slid to the side when the weight on the mattress next to her disappeared.

"Come on," An said.

"Saa?"

"Come on, Hari," An grinned and reached out and grabbed Hari's hand and pulled her up from the bed.

...

Hari blinked when she realised that they were at the train station. She looked around before she looked at An who was still grinning and had a proud look on her face.

"An-chan? Why are we here?" Hari asked.

"We're going to Chiba!" An declared.

"What?" Hari blinked, "but…"

"You can't go alone because you get lost," An interrupted her, "but I won't get lost, so we can go together!"

Hari snorted but shrugged. She guessed that was technically correct. Besides, she wanted to go and see Saeki and get his help with her motion vision.

"Okay, but why are we going there?" Hari asked when they were seated on the train.

"Because seeing Saeki again will help you figure out if you still like him or not," An said surely.

Hari blinked.

"That's…a good idea," she admitted a little reluctantly.

An grinned and nodded. Soon they were chatting and laughing in a way Hari really missed. It was different to just hand out with a fellow girl and not just boys. It was like that at Hogwarts too. Hari always enjoyed just hanging out with Hermione sometimes; it was just different from how it was when Ron was there as well. Not that she didn't like hanging out with Ron or the other boys from her team, because she did.

...

Hari and An made their way to Rokkaku Middle School where Hari knew Saeki often had an early afternoon practice on Saturdays. She hoped that he had that today as well because she wanted to surprise him. If he wasn't there she would call him and ask where he was, but that would be the boring option.

"I think it's over there;" An said.

"Hai," Hari agreed. "I recognise it now."

They walked further up the hill before they reached the school and Hari noticed that An looked around in curiosity but since Hari had seen it before she didn't bother to study the grounds that much.

They heard the sounds from practice going on before they saw it and from the sounds of things the kids that normally were there watching was there again as well. She smiled slightly at that.

Hari saw him immediately. He was talking to their coach and was smiling like he normally did. His hair was still the same silver-white with darker hair at the bottom, he was still handsome and had a very nice smile, Hari thought as she studied him.

"Where is he?" An asked eagerly.

Hari glanced at her and saw her watching the boys that were now stretching after their practice. She sighed a little.

"He's the one talking to their coach;" Hari said and An looked to the side of the court and blinked.

"He's handsome," she said approvingly. "I like his hair."

Hari laughed and shook her head.

"Come on," she said when she stopped laughing.

...

"Hari-chan!" Saeki smiled when he saw her. "I didn't know you were coming."

"Jiro-kun," Hari grinned and he rolled his eyes at her, "I hadn't planned to."

The others had noticed her now and smiled as they waved at her and she saw them throw curious looks at An who was looking back equally curious.

"YOU HAVEN'T BEEN HERE IN FOREVER!" Aoi yelled as he skipped over to them.

"Don't yell, Aoi!" Shudo complained and rubbed his ear. "Hello, Echizen-san."

"Shudo-san," Hari nodded politely.

"But, Aoi is correct," Amane said with an easy smile, "you haven't been here in a long time."

Hari grimaced and Saeki chuckled amused making her glare at him.

"Well, I was told not to use the trains on my own," Hari reluctantly said.

"She kept getting lost using the trains," Saeki added helpfully. "Didn't you, Hari-chan?"

The others laughed and Hari pouted and crossed her arms over her chest as she looked away.

"It's not my fault," she muttered petulantly.

"But how are you here now, then?" Kurobane asked curiously.

Hari glanced at An who had stayed in the background while she greeted the team. When she met Hari's eyes An stepped forward and the others took notice of her and blinked.

"ANOTHER PRETTY GIRL!" Aoi grinned.

"AOI!" Shudo snapped annoyed.

Hari laughed.

"This is my friend, Tachibana An," Hari introduced, "she offered to be my guide so I'm not breaking any rules. I'm not taking the trains by myself."

"Sneaky," Saeki grinned and Hari smirked at him. He looked back at An and smiled politely, though. "Nice to meet you, Tachibana-san."

"You too," An smiled. "Hari-chan has told me about you."

Hari frowned as she looked at An and fought the blush that she knew wanted to come. She didn't need to make it sound like…like she talked about him. Saeki just smiled and nodded, though.

"So, why are you here, Hari-chan?" Saeki asked turning back to her.

"I was hoping we could play?" Hari asked. "I could use some help on my motion vision, I think I've hit a wall."

Saeki looked at her for a moment before he nodded.

"Sure," he said. "I have some time."

"Great!" Hari cheered making Saeki smile amusedly at her.

...

Hari and Saeki practised for a couple of hours while An was shown around the neighbourhood by the others on the team when it was clear that the two was lost in their practice and would be for a while. An didn't mind giving Hari some time alone with Saeki because she knew that her friend needed to figure out her own feelings for the boy.

An smiled slightly as she thought about it. Saeki was really handsome with his silver-white hair and pointed chin, but there was also something about the way he acted that was very…attractive. He was kind and gentle in a way that just screamed of someone comfortable in his own skin and that was rare in boys these days.

She wondered if Hari really liked him or if it had only been a crush that faded away quickly when separated for a while. It was not unlikely but An found herself hoping that Hari and Saeki would end up finding out that they liked each other.

Now, An was back at the school and found Hari smiling at something Saeki was telling her both seated on a bench with a bottle of water in their hands. A towel was thrown around Hari's shoulders as well and her hair looked a little wet like she had poured water over her head.

"Hey, An-chan!" Hari smiled when she noticed her. "Did you have a good time? I'm sorry… I got lost in practice…"

"That was why we came here, Hari-chan," An smiled amusedly eyes flickering over to Saeki who smiled politely back at her. "Did you get the help you needed?"

Hari nodded and grinned.

"Jiro-kun is a very good teacher," Hari said.

"You have gotten very good at it, Hari-chan," Saeki said and looked at her. "Have you perhaps gotten help from your team?"

Hari tilted her head as she looked at Saeki.

"Well, I've watched Kikumaru-kun a bit," Hari admitted. "He also has motion vision."

Saeki nodded like he already knew this.

"If he has it then why don't you have him help you?" Shudo asked curiously.

Hari blinked.

"Well, because he was the one who said I had a talent in it," Hari said like it was obvious and pointed at Saeki.

Saeki chuckled and smiled fondly at her.

"Mochiron," Saeki said.

"See, Jiro-kun understands!" Hari said proudly.

...

An frowned slightly as she watched Hari on the train back to Tokyo. She was staring at her hand with a faraway look in her eyes. An followed her eyes and looked at the slender and pale hand that was stretched out in front of Hari but she could see nothing that could explain the look on Hari's face.

Hari sighed as she used the other hand to trace over her knuckles and a small frown settled on her brow before a faint blush coloured her cheeks. An's eyebrows raised up in surprise as she took in the sudden blush. What had caused it?

"Hari-chan?" An asked.

Hari startled like she had forgotten that An was there.

"Oh. An-chan," Hari smiled a little sheepishly. "Gomen. Did you say something?"

"Is something wrong?" An asked worriedly.

Hari blinked before she smiled.

"No, of course not," Hari denied. "Why?"

An wanted to sigh but she withheld it.

"You seemed lost in thought," An explained.

"I guess I was," Hari admitted but didn't deliberate on what she had been thinking about. An hesitated for a moment before deciding not to push her on it.

"So, how was it to see Saeki-san again?" An asked instead.

"It was fun," Hari smiled and leaned back in the seat. "I always enjoy playing with him. He's a good challenge and doesn't get sore about it if I win."

An nodded.

"He seems very nice," An said. "Though, that captain of his is rather loud."

Hari laughed and nodded in agreement.

...

Hari settled on her bed that night and stared up at the ceiling of her room. Her mind was back to the day spent with Saeki and An, but mostly Saeki. She had liked him, or so she had thought. But maybe…maybe she hadn't? Was it possible that she just thought she liked him because An suggested it?

She frowned.

This was so confusing. Did she or didn't she like Saeki? She had enjoyed the time she had spent with him, he was easy and fun to be around. He was a good and patient teacher and he made her laugh.

Yet…

Yet, the butterflies in her stomach were not present when she talked with him. She hadn't felt the blush in her cheeks as he brushed against her. She hadn't felt her heart throb extra hard when he squeezed her hand when they said goodbye.

She looked at her hand and scowled at it.

Why hadn't she felt like that?

Seiichi leaning over her hand and _kissing_ it flashed in her mind and she felt her cheeks burn making her groan. When Saeki had held her hand in his stronger one earlier Hari's mind had immediately jumped to the thought of Seiichi and him _kissing_ her hand and the lack of warmth she felt from Saeki's touch compared to Seiichi's.

"Argh," she groaned and thumped her head against her pillow in frustration.

Why was this so difficult? It shouldn't be because it was her feelings after all. It should be simple for her to figure it out! But no… all she felt was confusion and wondering why she wondered about it at all.

This was all An's fault, Hari decided. It was absolutely and totally An's fault!

...

Hari waved goodbye to Sora and Hira outside of the school having studied with them for a bit after the end of class. She enjoyed spending time with the two twins but had hoped that they had liked pranking a little more, but then again… it wasn't really fair of her to hope that just because she missed the Weasley twins.

Shaking her head at her own thoughts she made her way toward her home but soon noticed a figure that was rapidly becoming familiar to her slouching not too far ahead of her. A scowl was etched onto his face by the looks of it and she suddenly regretted staying behind to study and not joining Ryoma and Momoshiro when they asked her to come and play tennis on the street courts.

She really didn't want to run into the teen right now. Not when he was convinced that she had been the one to prank him (he was correct but that was beside the point) and had decided to get his revenge.

Apparently by stalking her. It was so annoying.

She turned to the right and glanced back and noticed to her dismay that he had noticed her and was walking behind her. She gritted her teeth in annoyance as she sped up but knew that without actually turning to a run he would catch up with her.

What should she do? She could make a run for it but he was likely to catch up because he had such (ridiculous) long legs and that gave him an unfair advantage.

She rounded a corner and before she could make up her mind she found herself yanked into an alley by a warm hand and another warm hand pressed over her mouth to stop any sound coming out.

Her heartbeat sped up and fear spread through her as her mind froze and she was just about to summon up her magic when…

"Quiet," a familiar voice whispered in her ear and she felt herself relax almost against her will and suddenly conscious about the warmth of the body so close to her own, so close that she could feel him pressed against her back.

She saw Akutsu stalk past the alley where she was hidden with a scowl on his face and hurried steps. He clearly thought she had made a run for it.

She stood completely still for a moment longer and barely dared to breathe because he was so close and she could feel his breath against her neck.

Suddenly, just as suddenly as she had been grabbed, she was free and the warmth from behind her was gone. She turned and looked up at Seiichi who was smiling softly at her.

"Hey," he said.

She blinked at how casual he sounded and she swallowed trying to find her voice again.

"Hey," she managed.

"So, why did he follow you?" Seiichi asked a small frown on his face as he glanced toward the street.

Hari exhaled and shook herself out of whatever it was that made her unable to think.

"He's upset because he thinks I pranked him," Hari huffed and turned to walk out of the alley.

Seiichi followed her and easily fell into step next to her. What was he doing here? Had he come to see her? She felt suddenly nervous.

"Did you?" he asked.

"Did I what?" Hari glanced at him already lost in thought.

"Did you prank him?" Seiichi arched a brow at her.

He must think she was stupid.

"Saa," Hari smiled innocently and Seiichi laughed.

"I see," he said.

Hari glanced at him and noticed how open his face looked when he smiled. She looked away.

"What were you doing here?" Hari asked to turn her mind away from thinking about things she shouldn't be thinking about now. "Just happened to be standing in an alley ready to save a girl from a stalking boy?"

She heard him snort and smiled slightly.

"No," he denied. "I was on my way to find you. I hoped to find you as you left your school and just happened to see you hurrying away and Akutsu behind you."

He had come to find her? She ignored the way her heart thumped harder. She must still be affected from trying to escape Akutsu.

"Why did you want to find me?" she asked and was pleased that her voice was steady.

"I wanted to see you and maybe ask if you wanted to spend the day with me," Seiichi said and was she wrong to think that there was a nervous note underneath the seemingly casual voice of his?

"Sure, why not?" Hari smiled as she glanced at him. "But we need to find something to eat first because I'm starving."

Seiichi nodded.

"Sounds good to me," he agreed.

...

They found a small restaurant that served western food and it looked to be a small forgotten place really that was run by an older married couple. The woman was the waiter and she chatted about how she and her husband had opened this place when they first married 39 years ago.

Both Hari and Seiichi nodded politely and listened to the woman talk even as they exchanged glances and had to look away to hide their amused smiles.

Finally, the woman went to give their orders (she had more or less told them what to order and in fear of being impolite they had allowed her to do so) and leaving Hari alone with Seiichi.

"How are you?" Hari asked after a brief almost awkward silence.

"I'm doing better," Seiichi smiled. "I'm here for my rehabilitation check-up and also some check-up with my doctor."

"Yes, your cousin told me you were coming to Tokyo," Hari nodded. "He didn't say why, though, but I guessed it was something like that."

"Oh? Right," Seiichi said and frowned slightly before his face cleared again. "Minoru said he had seen you with a boy, I don't remember the name he told me."

Hari nodded.

"Yes, Ryoga-san and I were on our way back from having gone to see Keigo," Hari said.

Seiichi frowned once more but there came no more explanation on who Ryoga-san was and he did not want to sound like he was _trying_ to figure it out.

"Keigo? Ah, Atobe?" Seiichi asked instead. "You did say something about him when we talked."

Hari nodded and got a look that was a cross between exasperation and fond on her face and he noticed how her eyes sparkled with a gleam that he couldn't explain.

"Yeah, my mum was his godmother," Hari explained, "I never knew that until recently, though. He has had some…troubles with understanding that I'm an Echizen now and not just a Potter."

Seiichi nodded and remembered that she had mentioned this in one of their talks on the phone. They talked some more before the woman came back with their food and drinks.

"Arigato," Hari smiled at the woman who smiled back.

...

"It was good food," Hari smiled pleased when they were outside again and had managed to get lose from the talkative woman inside as they paid their bill. "But she sure could talk…"

Seiichi smiled and nodded but didn't say anything.

They started to walk down the street and toward the river. Hari looked up at the sky and let a smile cross her lips as she took in the still blue sky and the occasional white cloud.

"Watch out," Seiichi suddenly said and his hand was on her arm and steadied her just as she stumbled slightly.

"Ah, thank you," Hari smiled at him and he rolled his eye.

"You're impossible," he said.

"Oi," she mock glared at him. "I'm not."

A calm smile was the only reaction she was met with and she huffed but felt her lips twitch amused as she looked away from him.

"Have you worked out more of your new move?" Seiichi asked after a moment of silence.

"Trying to fish for new information on the competition, Sei-chan?" Hari arched a brow at him.

"Ma…" Seiichi drawled.

Hari laughed lightly as she started to descend the stairs leading down to the river missing the fond and searching look from her companion and the light blush in his cheeks.

"It's going well," Hari said glancing at him before she sat down at the small wall that was separating the path and the river letting her feet dangle over the water and she wished she could reach it but it was too far down. "I love watching the water. I used to do it at my school in Scotland. There was a large lake on the grounds that had this large and really beautiful tree next to it, I loved sitting underneath the tree to do my homework or just stare at the water."

Hari could feel Seiichi looking at her but she had no idea what he was thinking as he observed her with those calm violet-blue eyes of his. She resisted the need to look back at him to see just what kind of look he had in his eyes.

Seiichi was watching the way her face seemed to come alive as she talked excitedly about a place that meant a lot to her as she waved a hand to help explain what she meant.

"Sounds like a good spot," Seiichi said when she fell silent. "Do you miss it?"

A shadow fell on her face and the smile slipped away as she looked at the river. Even from where he was sitting he could see that the green eyes of hers had darkened with unknown (to him) emotions.

"That's complicated," Hari eventually said.

Seiichi watched her closely wishing he could take away that dark pained look that was on her face because she wasn't meant to have that kind of look. She was meant to be laughing and smiling. Though, he wasn't sure how to break her out of it.

"I guess," she continued unaware of his thoughts, "I miss the few friends I made there, and while the school was beautiful and the grounds really breathtaking, I don't miss it."

"I see," Seiichi said even if he didn't. Not really. He had a feeling that she was holding something big back, but he didn't blame her. He hadn't a right to her secrets. Even if he wished she would trust him with it.

Hari glanced at him and suddenly smiled and her face lit up again and the darkness that had been there vanished like it never had been there at all.

"You really are easy to talk to," she said and he had a feeling that there was another layer to the statement but he couldn't really say what it was.

She glanced at the clock and grimaced.

"Ouch," she said.

"Something wrong?" Seiichi asked.

"Only the fact that Nanjiro will be wondering where I am," Hari sighed but she made no sign of getting up as she leaned back and stared up at the sky that was now darkening and the sun was almost gone.

"Ah, curfew?" Seiichi asked.

"Nah, not exactly," Hari shrugged, "but he gets a little…restless if I'm not home and Ryoma is. He will think I'm out with a boy."

Seiichi arched a brow amused.

"Well, you are," he said.

Hari nodded.

"Yeah, but he's rather…overprotective type," Hari grimaced. "I rather not deal with it."

"I feel like I should apologize," Seiichi said.

"You really should," Hari nodded seriously before she laughed and he smiled slightly.

...

They walked toward her house together and Hari listened to him talk about his team and how they trained and how the training had been interrupted by Marui Bunta when someone had accidentally hit his cake with a tennis ball.

"Sounds like fun," Hari observed amusedly when he finished telling her the story.

"It was a mess," he said with a long-suffering sigh. "I have no idea how my team ended up like that."

Hari glanced at him with a wry look.

"You don't want them any other way," she said, "just admit it."

He frowned at her but she just gave a cheeky grin back.

Hari paused when they reached the gates leading up to her house and she noticed that he glanced at the gate and the nameplate with the name 'Echizen' written on it before his violet-blue eyes found her again.

"Thank you for walking me home," Hari said suddenly a little shy.

"No problem," he smiled softly. "Thank you for spending the rest of your day with me."

So formal he was, Hari thought amused but also a little pleased.

"It was fun," she smiled.

He nodded in agreement. "It was."

"I…" Hari started to say but then the front door opened and she felt her eyes widen slightly.

"Hari-chan? Is that you?" Nanjiro's voice called out.

"Yes! I'm here!" Hari called back.

"Where have you been?" He called.

"Just out, I'm coming!" Hari called back and turned to look at Seiichi and whispered, "go…"

She didn't want Nanjiro to catch them together because he would go into interrogator mode and that was not something she wanted to put Seiichi through. Seiichi smiled and gave her a look before he grabbed her hand and kissed it as he had done before. But…did his lips, so soft and warm, lingering longer on the back of her hand than before?

"See you," he whispered and reached out to push a strand of hair out of her face with the hand that was not still holding hers before he let go and backed away.

With one last look she turned and slipped in through the gates and toward the house where Nanjiro was waiting in the doorway with a suspicious look in his hazel eyes.

...

"How was it in Tokyo?" Sanada asked when he sat down next to Seiichi on the bench overlooking the practice.

Seiichi glanced at his best friend who was not looking at him and was trying very hard to not show how anxious he was to know how his doctor appointment had gone. He allowed a small amused smile to cross his lips.

"It was fine," Seiichi said calmly. "It's stable."

"So you still can't train properly?" Sanada asked.

"Not yet," Seiichi said.

Sanada nodded and didn't say anything else but he didn't get up to join the others either. Seiichi remembered Hari telling him that he would not want his team any other way and as he took in the seriousness and hard work they put into their practice he had to agree with her.

"So," Sanada started a little awkwardly and shifted on the bench, "did you see her?"

Seiichi glanced at him and noticed that Sanada was watching him from the corner of his eyes.

"Hari-chan, you mean?" Seiichi asked despite knowing the answer.

"Hai," Sanada said.

"Yeah, I saw her yesterday," Seiichi said and seemed unaware of the smile on his face but Sanada saw it.

"Oh," Sanada said.

Seiichi glanced at his best friend and wondered if he should put him out of his misery or not because it was clear that he wanted to ask more but his stoic nature didn't really allow him to.

"I went to see her when she was finished with school," Seiichi decided to take mercy on his friend. "I saved her from Akutsu."

"Akutsu?" Sanada frowned as he turned to look at Seiichi. "Akutsu Jin?"

Seiichi nodded and frowned slightly, "yeah. He was following her and she was trying to get away from him." He didn't like that.

"Why was he following her?" Sanada asked with a frown.

"She said it was because he thought she had pranked him," Seiichi said.

"And did she?"

"She wouldn't admit it, but I would say yes," Seiichi nodded.

Sanada shook his head. "Crazy."

Seiichi nodded in agreement but the fond smile on his lips told another story. Seiichi rested his head in his hand as he looked over the tennis court. His mind was still on the day before and how easy it had been to talk to Hari, it always was.

But there had been something different yesterday as well. There had been something more beneath everything they had done and said, he could feel it. He smiled slightly as he thought that maybe she was ready for him to actually ask her out…

He remembered the blush in her cheeks when they said goodbye and how her eyes widened when he kissed her hand, she did that every time he kissed her hand and it never got old, and how soft her hair felt in his fingers and how he wanted to pull his hand through her hair…

He shook his head to clear it and suddenly aware that Sanada was watching him with a pensive look on his face and that the others had joined them.

"Are you thinking about cake?" Marui asked.

"Stupid!" Yanagi Renji scolded and swatted Marui over the head.

"Ouch!" Marui groaned and rubbed his head. "Why did you do that?"

"Don't disrespect the Captain!" Yanagi said.

"Yeah, yeah," Marui pouted.

Sanada sighed next to Seiichi who just had a mildly amused look on his face.

"Puri!" Nio Masaharu said as he looked at Seiichi with a curious look.

"Mou ii," Seiichi said calmly and stood up. "I want you to…"

He continued to give them instructions for the practice and set up practice matches for them after they finished their training menus. Just as he was finishing giving his instruction did his phone start ringing and he waved them off as he pulled it out of his bag.

"Hello," he said as he arched a brow when his team still stared at him. "I'm back at school, yeah."

"Come on!" Sanada barked out as he pushed Marui who was closest to him. "Get going."

"Who is he talking to?" Marui asked eying his captain with a speculative look.

"…" Sanada just stared at him.

"You know," Marui accused.

"The data is on the side of Sanada knowing," Yanagi quiet voice added.

"Puri!" Nio nodded.

Sanada glared at them and they turned back to what they were supposed to be doing while Sanada cast a glance over at Seiichi who was talking on the phone. During practice. Something he never did. He shook his head as he focused on his own training menu.

...

"Did you get in trouble for being out late?" Seiichi asked as he sat down.

" _Nah, but Nanjiro is certain that I'm hiding something from him,"_ Hari laughed and Seiichi smiled amusedly.

"Well, aren't you?" Seiichi asked.

" _He'll live,"_ Hari said unconcernedly.

"Why don't you just tell him?" Seiichi asked and not because he was hurt or anything because she hadn't told her adoptive father about him or anything like that, he was just curious as to why.

" _He tried to get me to start homeschooling when I joined the boys' team in tennis and realised that there would be boys' on the team,"_ Hari deadpanned.

"Ah," Seiichi said amusedly.

" _You're laughing,"_ Hari said and he could hear the pout through the phone.

"I wouldn't dare," Seiichi denied.

" _Hmph,"_ Hari huffed. " _Whatever. What are you doing now? You said you were at school?"_

"Practice," Seiichi said.

" _Oh? I disturbed you, then,"_ Hari said apologetically.

"No, it's fine," Seiichi said even knowing that he should be paying attention to the training his team was doing but he wanted to talk to Hari. Besides, the team would be fine without him for a little bit. It wasn't like he could join them in the practice anyway. "They know what to do and I can observe them even as I talk with you. Have you been at practice already?"

" _It's raining,"_ Hari said with a sigh, " _so Ryuzaki-sensei told us to stop. She even interrupted Ryo-chan's practice match against Shu-chan. It would have been fun to see who won."_

Shu-chan? Seiichi frowned slightly before he realised that it must be Fuji she was talking about. He felt a twisting sensation in his stomach as he realised that she had a nickname for her teammate as well.

" _Sei-chan?"_ Hari's voice sounded. " _You there?"_

"Yeah," Seiichi said. "Sorry. Just got lost in my thoughts."

They talked a few minutes more before she said she had to go and they ended the call leaving Seiichi smiling and a plan forming in his head. It was time for him to act and do something because he had made up his mind. Echizen Hari was going to be his.

 **...**

 **...**

 **AN:** **What do you think? XD It's not my best one, I know. This one took forever to get ready and I struggled with the pacing of the chapter. Well, anyway, the chapter is up and I hope you liked it! :)**

 **Thank you for reading and supporting this story! I know it's been a little bit since I updated but I've been really exhausted lately and not really had the extra energy to write much. I'm getting better now so hopefully, I will be able to write more. XD**

 **Japanese words used:**  
 **Ma - Well**  
 **Shirimasen - I don't know**  
 **Saa - filler**  
 **Hai - yes**  
 **Mochiron - of course**  
 **Gomen - Sorry**  
 **Arigato - Thank you**  
 **Mou ii - enough**


	26. Seigaku vs Yamabuki

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Prince of Tennis!**

 **...**

 **...**

Hari glanced at her phone and smiled as she read the latest text from Seiichi. He was coming to Tokyo again soon and he asked if she would meet him. She felt a burst of excitement go through her despite wondering why he was coming back so soon. He had after all just been here… was something wrong with his legs? Did he need to see the doctors that often?

She frowned worriedly and her hand tightened around the phone as she absentmindedly sidestepped a kid running straight in front of her yelling something about 'Akutsu-sempai!'

"Itee!" she yelped as she collided with something firm and stumbled back a little. Her hand went up to her head and rubbed it as she looked up to see who she had collided with this time. "I seriously have to stop colliding with people…" she muttered to herself as she saw that this time she had collided with an old man who was smiling down at her with his head tilted slightly to the side.

"Oh," he said airily, "looks like I collided with a young lady. Are you okay, miss?"

"I'm fine," Hari grumbled before she smiled apologetically, "I'm sorry, sir! I wasn't paying attention to where I was going… Did I hurt you?"

He just looked at her for a moment before he suddenly laughed.

"Oh, no," he said. "I'm perfectly fine…"

"Good," she said before she bowed politely, "I'm sorry again."

She could feel him watching her as she walked away with fast steps and wondered where to find her team. She had been a little late for their arrival for the _xxth National Jr. High Tennis Championship – Tokyo District Location – semi-finals._

Of course, they had moved around and she had not been able to find it until now. She had lost sight of Ryoma when she had gotten the text from Seiichi and gotten distracted so that might have something to do with it.

"Hari-chan!" Horio and Kachiro both yelled making her blink as she turned to see the first year trio coming running toward her.

"Ah, it's you guys," she said. "Do you know where Ryo-chan is? He got lost."

"IT'S YOU WHO GOT LOST!" Horio yelled.

Hari pouted.

"I did not," she denied, mostly just to annoy them. "I knew where I was the whole time."

"YOU DID NOT!" Horio looked angry.

"Ma, ma," Kachiro interrupted nervously, "let's calm down, eh?"

"Yeah," Mizuno nodded. "Come on, let's go find the others."

...

Nanjiro flipped a page of his magazine and giggled as he saw the new image of Mai-chan but he soon frowned as his real trouble pressed on his mind.

He was sure that Hari was hiding something from him. She had been out two days ago and had been home later than Ryoma and wouldn't say who she had met. Just claimed that she had been 'out'.

No. There was something fishy going on there. She hadn't just been 'out'. She had met someone and he was very _curious_ about who this someone was. His eyebrow twitched as he pictured her meeting a boy and the boy holding her hand… _kissing_ her… his hands clenched and he heard the sound of paper being crushed.

"Oh! NO! My magazine!" He yelped and frantically tried to straighten the pages.

This was that unknown boy's fault! Nanjiro swore in his mind. He was the one who made Hari act all secretive and…a dark cloud manifested over his head as he pushed the magazine away knowing it was a lost cause… he would have to buy a new one.

"Oji-san," Nanako interrupted him and she sounded slightly exasperated as she looked at him. "Ryuzaki-sensei is on the phone for you."

"I'm busy," he whined.

"Doing what?" his niece asked.

"Figuring out Hari-chan!" Nanjiro declared making Nanako sigh.

"Well, I can't tell the coach that," she said, "so come and answer the phone."

He sighed and got up from the floor and made his way to the phone.

"Yes?" he pouted into the phone.

"You were watching one of those perverted magazines, weren't you?" Ryuzaki asked in a way of greeting.

"Ie! I was not!" Nanjiro denied with a scowl.

"Ah," she said and sounded amused, "they I guess you were fretting over Hari-chan, right?"

"I don't like the boys around her," Nanjiro whined. "Do you know which one she met?"

"She met a boy?" Ryuzaki asked. "Well, she meets them all at practice and I think she meets some for extra practice at times…"

"Ie!" Nanjiro despaired. "Can't you kick them out?"

"…"

"Well?"

"You do realise that this is originally the _boys'_ team in tennis, right?" Ryuzaki's voice was dripping in sarcasm.

"You're no help," Nanjiro muttered.

"…" Ryuzaki sighed. "Anyway, I called about today's match."

"Oh?" Nanjiro said uninterestingly. "What about it?"

"It's two reasons, really," she said with a teasing tilt to her voice and he frowned knowing that tone very well.

"Nani?" he asked despite himself.

"Well, one is because of who we're playing today," Ryuzaki said.

"Like that would surprise me," Nanjiro said confidently.

"Is that so?" Ryuzaki asked amusedly. "Well, we're playing Banji's team today."

Nanjiro blinked and sat up straighter.

"What? Banji? What's that old fool still doing alive?!" Nanjiro exclaimed.

"Oh? So, you are surprised?" Ryuzaki asked.

Nanjiro scowled and got to his feet.

"What's the other reason you called?" he asked.

"Well…" Ryuzaki said.

Under five minutes later Nanjiro was off on his bike leaving an exasperated Nanako behind shaking her head and wishing Hari luck because she was sure he was leaving to spy on her.

...

Hari frowned when she heard the chatter going around about Fudomine and Tachibana. They were saying that he had forced his team to play even when injured and it was ridiculous! Tachibana would never; never do a thing like that.

People were stupid.

She ignored the weary looks she got from the first year trio as she glared at a group of students gossiping with relish as she passed by. She fisted her hands as she stopped herself from going over there and _told_ them exactly what she thought.

Suddenly a familiar and unpleasant voice reached her from behind some trees.

"Your reputation just got trashed, Captain-san."

Hari narrowed her eyes and turned to follow it.

"Hari-chan…" Kachiro whined but she ignored him.

She soon saw Fudomine all together and in front of them was Akutsu who was standing up as he faced them. She also saw An there next to her brother.

"If it's too dangerous then you shouldn't have played in the first place," Akutsu said. "Baka."

"You bastard!" Kamio growled. "What the hell did you just say?!"

"Stop it, Kamio!" Tachibana put a hand on his shoulder to calm him down.

"Oh? You want to go at it?" Akutsu smirked and cracked his fingers menacingly. "Was losing at tennis not enough for you?"

"Was the prank not a lesson enough for you?" Hari interrupted whatever response he would have received for his mocking.

Akutsu spun around and narrowed his eyes as he stared at her.

"You!" He snapped.

"Me," she arched a brow. "I'm surprised. You haven't found me yet. I thought you had made it your personal mission to stalk me wherever I went?"

"Hari-chan," An said.

"Hey, An-chan!" Hari waved at her before her eyes turned back to Akutsu who was glaring at her.

"I knew you were behind the prank!" he growled.

Hari knew it was no more use in denying that she was behind it. She also knew that she shouldn't have said anything but the words were out of her mouth before she even knew it herself.

"You don't seem to have learned anything, though," Hari said, "maybe I need to…take it up a notch."

"You…!" Akutsu took a step closer to her and she arched a brow at him.

"Stay away from Hari-chan!" Kachiro yelled and ran around her to place himself between Hari and Akutsu even if he was shaking in fear.

Hari glanced down at him in surprise.

"Oh, you want to go up against me again?" Akutsu sneered. "It didn't go so well last time, did it, chibi?"

"Oi! Stay away from Hari-chan and Kachiro!" Horio and Mizuno yelled joining their friend.

Hari blinked again when the two joined Kachiro in front of her.

Akutsu glared at her but he didn't say anything.

"Calm down," Tachibana's calm voice interrupted and he shot Hari a curious look. "Hello, Echizen-san."

"Hey, Tachi-kun!" Hari waved.

"Tachi-kun?" Kamio and the others mouthed while Tachibana just arched a brow at her while An giggled behind her hand.

"Oh, so you come to save the losers from me?" Akutsu interrupted with a smirk.

"Tachi-kun doesn't need me or anyone else to save him," Hari shrugged casting a cold look at Akutsu. "He's more than capable to defend himself."

Tachibana smiled slightly as he looked at her.

"Come on," he said. "Let's go."

...

"Whatever," Akutsu grumbled as he turned to walk away but he shot Hari a glare as he fisted his hands. She had humiliated him and now she had practically admitted it!

He met her eyes and saw the cold green eyes glance over him before she looked away like he wasn't important and somehow that pissed him off even more. She shouldn't be able to just look away from him like that! Those eyes had been laughing at him earlier but now they were cold and indifferent. He was not used to being dismissed like that and she would learn that he wasn't someone she could so easily dismiss.

"Oi! Akutus-sempai!" Dan called and he growled at the younger boy but he just looked back at him with those wide awe-filled eyes. "You have to come back!"

"Shut up!" he snapped at the boy and kicked a rock making it fly violently ahead.

...

"You shouldn't provoke him like that, Hari-chan," Kachiro said nervously.

"Eh?" Hari blinked down at him. "Oh, don't worry about it."

She started to walk again just as her phone buzzed and she pulled it out and saw a new text from Seiichi. She felt a fluttering feeling in her stomach as she opened the text and smiled.

 _Good luck today. Let me know how your match goes and tell me if Akutsu gives you any more trouble. Seiichi._

He worried too much, she thought but the pleasure it gave her was undeniable but she ignored what it would mean. She smiled softly as she answered the text unaware of them having found the team and the suspicious looks she got from Ryoma when he took in the look on her face.

"Hari-chan!" Kikumaru exclaimed and jumped over to them and threw an arm around her shoulder. "You're finally here! We thought you had gotten lost again!"

"We found her for you, sempai," Horio said importantly.

"Good job," Momoshiro laughed as Hari pouted and shot him a glare.

"Yeah, yeah," she muttered, "give them a medal or something."

...

"Hey, Yoshida-san," Hari smiled at the manager. "Do you have the data for Ginka ready?"

"Hey, Hari-chan," Yoshida smiled back. "Yes, I have it here."

They chatted lightly as they made their way to the courts and noticed the green-clad team of Ginka already there looking fired up and confident, in a way that was very familiar to Hari. She snorted lightly. It was just the way they had looked the day she and Ryoma had played them…and they all knew how that turned out.

"EH?!"

Hari glanced to where the sound was coming from and saw the Ginka players stare at Ryoma with wide eyes and seemed to pale in sync – was that even possible? Huh. She hadn't known that.

"What…" one of them stuttered.

She shook her head as she continued to walk past them.

"No!" she heard someone yell. "I refuse!"

Hari glanced and saw them staring at her now and she smiled and waved at them making them stumble back. So, okay maybe she was being a bit mean. But it was so much fun and she still felt rather annoyed at them and the way they had tried to bully Sakuno.

"What's their problem?" Kikumaru wondered as he looked over at them curiously.

"Who knows," Oishi said but he did look a little worried. "I hope they're alright."

"You're such a worrywart, Oishi," Kikumaru teased.

Hari chuckled as she turned her attention back to Yoshida and listened to her analyse of Ginka and Hari felt like grimacing. Just why did Yoshida and Inui (she had heard him talk about it earlier) think that Ginka was so great?

"Don't worry, Yoshida-san," Hari said. "We can take them."

"You don't understand," Yoshida said, "the amount of training they do is making ours look like nothing! They were completely knocked out on the courts after one of their practices! Inui-san and I went to observe them one day and they all looked to be knocked out…"

Hari arched a brow.

"Oh," she said as she realised what day it was and she suddenly felt slightly guilty. "Um, would that be why Inui has pushed us so hard during the practices lately?"

"Of course," Yoshida nodded.

"Oh," Hari said again.

...

Hari stood next to Yoshida and Inui with the first years around them and she noticed Sakuno glance at her and then back at the opposing team. She had no doubt recognised them as well.

"Go Ryoma-sama!" Tomoka cheered.

"Good luck, Ryoma-kun!" Sakuno said with a blush.

The two teams were lined up and Hari could see the determination on her friends' faces as they looked at the Ginka team. Even Ginka looked fired up, so maybe they hadn't been that affected by recognizing Ryoma? Maybe….

"We forfeit! Our stomachs hurt!"

Hari blinked in surprise as they talked as one and all grabbed their stomach in an obviously fake way.

"Huh?"

"Eh?"

"Hah?"

She sighed as she watched them demonstratively walked off the court much to the rest of her team's confusion. Tomoka was cheering but Hari ignored her.

"I wonder what's up with them," Kawamura said as he picked up his bag again.

"They said they were sick," Oishi said with a worried frown, "I wonder if a virus is going around…"

"Oishi, you're too easily deceived," Kikumaru said, "they were faking it! But I don't know why…"

"I wonder," Ryuzaki said shaking her head in shock. "I never have experienced an entire team just forfeit like that before."

"Ano," Sakuno said and blushed when everyone turned to look at her.

"Did you want to say something, Sakuno?" Ryuzaki asked her granddaughter.

Sakuno looked at Hari and Ryoma who had ended up standing next to each other and both blinked when they saw her looking at them.

"Nani?" Ryoma asked.

"We have met them before…" Sakuno said quietly.

"Hmph," Ryoma snorted. "They're not worth remembering."

He scowled.

"Echizen," Ryuzaki frowned at him.

"What? They almost hurt Hari!" Ryoma scowled at her. "I'm not sorry!"

Hari sighed as again she was faced with protective stares and scowls.

"I was fine and they didn't hurt me at all," Hari rolled her eyes. "Ryo-chan was just overreacting."

"I was not," Ryoma said, "but we took care of them. We played and we won."

"I think that was the day you and Inui-sempai went to see them, Yoshida-san," Hari said glancing at the manager, "so, um, sorry for making you believe that they were better than they were?"

...

"You know Oyaji is rather suspicious of you," Ryoma said and glanced at Hari who was sitting next to him underneath the tree.

"Hm?" Hari blinked and glanced at him. "He is?"

"Yeah," Ryoma nodded, "he even asked me if you got a boyfriend."

Hari rolled her eyes and leaned back against the tree and stared up at the blue sky and the white clouds.

"I see," was all she said.

Ryoma frowned as he looked at her. She didn't reveal anything with that reaction, there was nothing that said that she did have a boyfriend but at the same time she didn't deny it either. So, did she have a boyfriend?

He took a sip of his Ponta as he considered his sister. She had a faraway look on her face and it was a look she had worn often as of late and he wondered… just what was she thinking about?

A noise to the side drew his attention and he saw a boy with dark blue hair and white t-shirt stumble around in a blind because of the green bandana that had fallen down over his eyes and instead of stopping like most would do the kid was still stumbling around yelling that he couldn't see. Before Ryoma could do anything the kid had stumbled over his outstretched leg and fallen to the ground with a crash.

Ryoma heard the snort next to him and knew that Hari had been drawn from her thoughts and was now looking at the boy.

"I can't see! It's all dark in front of me, what happened?" the boy was saying.

"Ne," Ryoma said. "Your bandana came down."

The boy stilled for a moment before he reached up and pushed the bandana up again.

"Ah, you're right," he said as he turned around. "Arigatou!"

Ryoma looked away from him and took a sip of his Ponta while Hari looked at the boy and noticed that he must be around Ryoma's age even if she would have thought he was younger at first glance. There was something innocent about him. She noticed that he was staring at Ryoma's jersey.

"Are you okay?" Hari asked and he yelped and looked at her like he hadn't noticed her there until now.

"Um," he blinked. "I'm fine! Thank you!"

She smiled and nodded.

"Are you students at Seigaku?" the boy asked looking between them.

"Yes," Ryoma said looking at him with a curious look in his eyes that also were confused.

"That's great!" the boy beamed at them. "I mean…You're going to cheer for 'that' guy, too?"

That guy? Hari arched a brow in curiosity.

"The freshman regular named Echizenya?"

Ryoma chocked on his Ponta while Hari burst out laughing ignoring the look Ryoma shot her.

"He's also a freshman and he's awesome!" the boy said enthusiastically. "I wanted to see him play with my own eyes!"

Hari glanced at Ryoma who looked a little stunned and before any of them could say anything the boy launched into a descriptive rant about Ryoma and how amazing he was to be playing even if he was short.

Hari smiled amused even as she also cooed (mentally of course) over how cute the boy was. The way his eyes lit up was just like an innocent little kid who had just gotten everything he wanted for Christmas!

"…thank you, but I have to go and find Akutsu-sempai now," the kid said and Hari almost grabbed him to hide him from the mean Yamabuki player. How could he say that so calmly? She shuddered.

"Ryoma-kun! Hari-chan!" Shiba called. "You both should go to the courts, you know!"

Hari nodded and got up while Ryoma did the same and put on his jacket. Hari noticed the stunned look on the boy's face as he stared at Ryoma. Had he just realised who he was? Hari smiled.

"So, height is all there is in tennis, huh?" Ryoma asked with a smirk.

"Go on, Ryo-chan," Hari said. "I'll catch up."

He gave her a disbelieving look but she ignored him as she grabbed the boy's arm and waved to the two journalists.

...

"Eh? Where are we going?" the boy asked.

"What's your name?" Hari asked ignoring the boy's question.

"Dan," he said confused. "Dan Taiichi."

"Nice to meet you, Dan-chan," Hari smiled and he blinked at her. "I'm Echizen Hari."

"E-Echizen?" he repeated surprised. "Then…"

"The boy was my little brother, Echizen Ryoma," Hari nodded. "I just wanted to let you know who he was. Seems like you like him."

"He…is amazing," Dan nodded and Hari held up a hand because while she always loved hearing others praise her little brother she didn't need to hear the same things all over again.

"Yes, he is," she agreed. "But… why do you think that you can't play tennis just because you're short, Dan-chan?"

"Well…" he frowned.

"It's not any of my business," Hari shrugged as she pushed her hands into her pockets and looked at the younger boy in front of her. "I just don't think you should limit yourself like that. Watch Ryo-chan's match and then make up your mind, Dan-chan. Height isn't everything."

Dan watched her leave stunned.

...

Nanjiro scowled as he was hiding behind a tree watching Hari talking to a boy with light brown hair that reached his chin and eyes closed. But they looked close and Hari was laughing. Laughing! He scowled.

He had been chased around by some policeman for too long and had only now found Hari and he was not pleased to see how close she seemed to the boys on the team.

Now, there! Just look at the boy who came and ruffled her hair like and smiled down at her with such a creepy smile. She swatted his hand away but smiled up at him. Wait…hadn't he seen him before? That was the kid who came almost every morning to pick her and Ryoma up before school, wasn't it?

Nanjiro watched as they looked over at the match going on, a doubles match by the look of it. From what he could tell they were having some trouble.

"Hari-san," a voice called and Nanjiro looked to see a stoic teen with glasses coming over to Hari and the others.

Nanjiro could not hear what was being said but he saw the stunned look on Hari's face and the flash of disappointment on the dark-haired kid's face before he smiled at Hari and ruffled her hair (again!) when the stoic one walked away.

Hari was left standing watching after him with a frown and Nanjiro scowled even harder because that boy dared leave Hari looking like that?! How dare he?!

"Oh, Nanjiro-san," Inoue said and Nanjiro jumped.

"Shh!" Nanjiro said reaching out to make sure he was silent and didn't give out his hiding spot.

"Why are you hiding behind a tree?" Inoue asked curiously and looked around spotting Hari and Ryoma with their team watching the game going on. "Oh, are you here for Ryoma-kun?"

"Ie," Nanjiro scoffed. "I'm not here for Ryoma-kun."

"Hari-chan, then?" Inoue asked.

"Hmph," Nanjiro folded his arms over his chest. "I'm only here for curiosity sake."

Inoue sighed slightly as he looked at the other man who was once more watching Seigaku or more likely Hari from behind the tree. He was frowning and muttered something under his breath that Inoue didn't catch.

...

Hari couldn't believe what Tezuka just had told her. It was too…unbelievable and, no she didn't even have words to describe it.

" _You're going to play Singles 3, Hari-san," Tezuka said. "Ryuzaki-sensei wants you to start to warm up soon and make sure you do it thoroughly. You're playing Yamabuki's Sengoku Kiyosumi."_

That was all he had said before he had returned to his spot watching Oishi and Kikumaru play their doubles match.

She was going to play? She was?!

But she wasn't even among the regulars! How could she even be allowed to play? And what about Momoshiro? She was sure he was the one who was supposed to be playing Singles 3. She didn't want to take his spot and she was sure he was better prepared for it than her…

"Momo-chan…" Hari glanced at him and found him smiling at her.

"You'll do great, Hari-chan!" he beamed.

"I…"

"Don't worry about it," he said and his smile softened like he knew what she was thinking. "It's a part of the game and Ryuzaki-sensei must have a reason for wanting you to play. I'm not upset at you, okay?"

He ruffled her hair and smiled making her smile back and nod.

"But, still…" she said and frowned, "I'm not prepared to play him. I don't really know much about him at all…"

"Inui-sempai can help you with that, I'm sure," Momoshiro said. "Go on, talk to him."

...

Hari had talked to Inui and was warming up now by doing some laps around the area accompanied by Fuji because he said she couldn't be trusted to not get lost. She had glared at him for that one but of course, he just smiled back.

Her mind focused on what was to come and go over the quick update she had received from Inui about Sengoku, the orange haired boy she had seen flirting with some girls earlier (and being shut down rather quickly as well). She could tell he was good even by just looking at him, and she felt a thrill of excitement go through her at the thought of going against him and testing her own skills.

But…it was a match that really mattered and what if she let them down?

She remembered losing against Hufflepuff in Quidditch earlier this year, she dismissed the fact that it was because of the Dementors, and the disappointed looks she got from everyone and the whispers that followed her.

"Calm down," Fuji said quietly and placed a hand on her arm. "You'll do fine. Just focus on your own play and you have your new move as well."

She glanced at him and smiled slightly letting him calm her down. She knew that getting herself worked up was not going to do her any good and that way she was going to lose.

And she was not going to lose! She was going to win! She could do it if she focused and pushed everything away. The nervousness she felt was not unfamiliar, she had felt it before her first Quidditch match and she had controlled it.

...

Oishi and Kikumaru won their doubles and cheered loudly even as they both looked exhausted and worn, but the smiles on their faces were wide and their eyes shone with a happy light.

"Hari-chan," Ryuzaki called and she turned to look at the coach who had stood up and was holding out a t-shirt for her. She saw it was the team t-shirt and she swallowed as she accepted it. "Change into that and come back."

Hari nodded and quickly made her way to change. Under ten minutes later she was back and saw the others standing there waiting for her. She felt new confidence wearing the team t-shirt and felt eyes on her as she walked toward her team.

"Looking good, Hari-chan," a voice said and she looked to see Ryoga standing there. "You'll knock him off the court."

"Ryoga-kun," Hari blinked, "what are you doing here?"

"I heard a rumour that you might be playing today," he said with a smile. "So I came to watch."

Hari frowned but shrugged it off.

"Arigatou," she said and he held up his hand for a high-five. She arched a brow but hit his hand with hers and smiled.

She walked the last few steps to her team and looked at Ryuzaki who nodded looking pleased with whatever it was she was looking for as she looked at her.

"Okay, good," she said.

"Um, coach?" Hari asked.

"Yes, Hari-chan?" she looked at her.

"Why do you want me to play?" she asked. "I never heard anything about it…"

"It was just an idea I had last night," Ryuzaki answered. "But I didn't make up my mind until now. Banji, the coach for Yamabuki, is a sly old man. I think that having you play against Sengoku is something they won't expect, so that's why."

Hari nodded in understanding.

"And I really want to beat that old man," Ryuzaki muttered making Hari smile amused.

...

"Oh, what a pretty lady," Sengoku beamed as he skipped over to her.

Hari arched a brow unimpressed.

"You will have tea with me later?" he asked slash ordered with a wide smile. "I just have to win this match first… I'm lucky, you know!"

"Oi! Step away from Hari-chan!" Kikumaru said and threw an arm around Hari's shoulders and glared at Sengoku.

"Mm? She's your girlfriend?" Sengoku asked depressed. "No! Please tell me it isn't so!"

Dramatic.

"She's not," Kikumaru scowled at him and pulled at Hari who was still remaining silent. "But she's my friend and I won't let a flirt like you annoy her!"

"Flirt?" he repeated in mock hurt but Hari saw the pensive look in his eyes as he looked at her.

"Oi!" Akutsu interrupted and stalked over to them. "Are you playing?!"

"Eh?" Sengoku blinked.

"So what if I am?" Hari asked indifferently.

"Then play me!" Akutsu said.

"No," Hari said, "I'm going to play Sengoku-san. That's the coach's order."

"Eh?" Sengoku said again this time a little louder as his wide eyes took in the team t-shirt that Hari was wearing. "You're playing me?!"

"Yes," she smiled cheekily at him. "I am."

"I'm telling you that you have to play me!" Akutsu growled. "It's time that I teach you how to show respect to your betters!"

"Calm down," Tezuka stepped in and turned his serious eyes at Akutsu. "You should step back and allow the players to prepare for their match, Akutsu-san."

There was nothing really menacing in the voice or words used but Akutsu stepped back and glared at Hari either way and stalked off to the fence and leaned against it while folding his arms over his chest.

"But, seriously!" Sengoku said as he shook himself out of the surprise (and was that slight fear in his eyes?) by Akutsu's behaviour. "You're my opponent?"

"Yes," Hari sighed. "Got a problem with that?"

"No," he smiled and suddenly she was sure she saw hearts in his eyes. "I'll prove to you through my tennis that I am serious and will take you out on a date afterwards!"

Hari sighed.

"No," she said turning away. She looked noticed the old man seated at the bench and realized that it was the man she had collided with earlier. He was watching her with a pensive look on his face but he smiled kindly when he saw her looking.

...

"I'll start," Sengoku said confidently.

"Oh?" Hari asked curiously as she spun the racket. "We'll see. Call a side."

"Rough," he said his blue eyes locked on her and a smirk on his lips.

Hari was curious about how he was so confident about this. She watched as the racket fell and sure enough it was rough.

"See? I'm Lucky Sengoku," he explained easily. "Though, I had hoped to be playing Echizen seeing that this is Singles 3 and he normally plays that, but…"

Hari snorted.

"Guess you have some luck," she said as she picked up her racket and turned to walk to the side. "Since I'm Echizen Hari."

He arched a brow.

"Hm. Really now…" he smiled. "Lucky."

Hari couldn't help that she found him amusing even if a bit annoying.

...

Hari frowned as she missed another one of his balls but she had been closer this time, she knew it. She gripped her racket tighter as she looked over at Sengoku who was looking confident and calm. Just as she expected him to look really.

40-0

She had to do something to change this. He was in the lead with 40-0 and even if it only was the first game she still didn't like it.

But she wasn't going to give up. She still had fight in her and she focused on him as he hit the ball and she saw it move like in slow motion and she reacted. She ran to the right and reached out just in time to reach the ball and returned it over the net.

Her eyes followed the ball and saw it connected to his racket and she moved knowing that the ball would go to her left now and she jumped and stretched with the racket out in front of her and managed to hit the ball and hit it back over the net as she crashed to the ground.

"Yes! Hari-chan!" she heard someone cheer.

40-15

She pushed herself back up to her feet and brushed off her hands as she did and looked over at Sengoku who was smiling but still looked a little pensive was he watched her.

"Hmm…"

...

Ryoga sighed as he noticed his father hidden behind a tree like a creeper but didn't turn to fully look at him nor look away from Hari who was playing her first official match.

She was fighting very well even if she was behind 4 games to 1. She had just taken her first game and looked more determined than anything else. She was nowhere near giving up.

"She should just give up," Ryoga heard someone mutter.

"Yeah, I don't know what the coach for Seigaku was thinking of putting her into the game…"

"Poor girl… and against someone like Sengoku. He's a talent!"

"So cruel…"

Ryoga snorted quietly as he listened to them. They didn't know anything. Hari would prove that she was playing for a reason. She already had shown that she had talent as well.

"Go Hari-chan!"

"Hari-chan!"

Ryoga smiled as he heard the freshmen from Seigaku cheer and he noticed the smile on Hari's face as well and the way she squared her shoulders even more.

"She's going for it now," Ryoma said as he came up next to him.

"Yeah," Ryoga nodded. "I look forward to watching her."

"How did you know that Hari was playing today?" Ryoma asked curiously.

"Nanako said that Oyaji had gone off to spy on Hari-chan," Ryoga rolled his eyes and heard Ryoma sigh next to him, "she also said that the coach had called and said something about a possibility for Hari-chan to play today."

"So Oyaji is somewhere around here?" Ryoma asked.

"He's hidden behind a tree over there," Ryoga motioned toward the hiding spot. "I'm sure he's spying and plotting intervention on every boy who's talked to Hari-chan today."

"Troublesome," Ryoma sighed even if his lips twitched a little. "Though, it's more amusing when it's Hari that's affected and not me."

Ryoga laughed.

"I feel for Hari-chan," Ryoga said. "If she ever gets a boyfriend…I don't know if he will survive…"

Ryoma chuckled and nodded in agreement just as Hari served and they watched as Sengoku missed the slice serve of hers.

"That's a good serve," Ryoga smiled.

"She's really gotten better at it," Ryoma agreed.

...

Ryoga watched as Hari glanced to the side and followed her eyes finding her looking at Fuji who smiled at her and nodded. Ryoga frowned slightly as he wondered what she had planned now and why Fuji seemed to know.

"Hm," Ryoma frowned next to him and Ryoga arched a brow.

"Nani?" he asked.

"I think…" but he trailed off and Ryoga gave up trying to figure it out.

Hari bounced the ball a couple of times before she tossed it up and performed her normal slice serve but only this time Ryoga could tell that she purposely made it so that the ball would hit closer to Sengoku… but why would she do that?

The ball was returned in a high curve and he realised that Hari had already reached the net and had jumped up in a way that resembled a bird, it was almost like he was seeing a bird and flames surround her, and with a backhand volley smash hit the ball in the place where Sengoku had left making him miss the ball.

Ryoga blinked and blinked again. Had she predicted where Sengoku would return the ball? And then followed up with the jump and backhand volley smash? Something that was very difficult to manage?

"She made it," Ryoma said and smiled sincerely at the girl on the court who looked pleased.

"What was that?" Ryoga asked.

"Her new move," Ryoma said.

...

"She did it," Fuji smiled.

"Eh? Fujiko-chan?" Kikumaru glanced at him.

"What move was that?" Kawamura asked. "I've never seen anything like it."

"It's her new move," Fuji explained sounding proud. "She has worked really hard on it."

"I see," Tezuka said but he smiled slightly as well. "Very good."

"Yes! Hari-chan!" Momoshiro cheered loudly and punched a hand into the air. "You can do it!"

...

"Wow," Minami Kentaro said as he stared at the girl playing Sengoku.

"That's….amazing," Higashikata said slightly awed.

"…what kind of move was that?" Dan blinked and looked up at Akutsu who grumbled and glared at the court despite feeling slightly impressed by the move.

"Hmmm… so that's why you had her play," Banda or Banji as he is more commonly known commented to himself as he glanced over at the other bench and to a pleased-looking Ryuzaki. "To have someone like her… Echizen Hari, huh? I wonder…"

...

Hari had gotten more into it now and watched Sengoku who was more determined now and not as happy-go-lucky anymore as he served his ball. She noticed how his arm moved and remembering Saeki's lessons let herself react without thinking too hard and used a backhand slice shot to return the ball giving the ball backspin.

He returned it and she changed her grip on the racket and hit the ball with a topspin forehand and the rally continued back and forth. Back and forth, until she managed to smash the ball behind him and out of the court.

It was tiring but fun. Hari smiled as she gripped the racket in her hand and felt the excitement run through her as she was finally catching up to him. It was only one point for her now and then she would be even.

...

"6-4! Seigaku, Echizen Hari win!" The referee called out over the stunned court.

Hari collapsed exhausted on the court but she was grinning widely. She had done it! She had won! She heard the cheers from the others but she had no energy to get up and look at them or join them in their cheering.

"Hari-chan!"

"Hari!" Ryoma smiled down at her and she grinned as he held out a hand for her to take. She grabbed it and let him pull her back to her feet. "Good game!"

She smiled and hugged him because he was her brother and she had just won her first official game. The happiness felt like it was going to burst out of her chest.

"Hari-chan!" a loud exclamation sounded and just as she pulled back from Ryoma she felt another body collide with hers and her air supply was starting to get short.

"Eiji! She can't breathe!" Oishi's frantic voice sounded in the background and soon Hari could breathe again and she gasped for air but still smiled.

"Awesome game, nya!" Kikumaru beamed.

"Good game, Hari-chan," Fuji smiled with his eyes closed, "and good move."

Hari just smiled and leaned against Ryoma who had taken the job to keep her upright when Kikumaru had pulled away (or dragged back by Oishi).

Hari pulled herself together to go and greet Sengoku like she was supposed to and saw the sad smile on his face but he had a note of respect in his eyes as he looked at her.

She shook his hand and he nodded at her.

"I'll win next time," he said.

"I look forward to playing you again, Sengoku-san," she answered.

...

"Good game, Hari-san," Tezuka said and even smiled (!) at her. "I was impressed by your new move."

"It was awesome!" Kikumaru said excitedly. "Does it have a name?"

Hari was now leaning against Fuji since Ryoma had to get ready for his game against Akutsu (who glared at her even harder now). She smiled tiredly.

"Um, yeah…" she said, "I call it the Phoenix Rising."

"Phoenix Rising?" Kikumaru repeated questioningly before he smiled. "I like it!"

"Me too," Momoshiro grinned.

 **...**

 **...**

 **AN:** **So, what do you think? :)**

 **Hari played in her first official match! XD The new move of hers is inspired by an idea given to me by a wonderful reviewer called LeafyLuminary XD I will admit that I don't know too much about tennis and all the moves that are possible. I have researched it a while and tried to make the best of it with my understanding of the sport and some freedom in creative writing ;) There's a meaning with the move and name that will be explained more in further chapters as well.**

 **I will try to have one more chapter ready before the new year. Thank you for reading and supporting the story so far, I really appreciate it! XD**

 **Merry Christmas to everyone who celebrates the holiday. I hope you have a wonderful time filled with happiness and laughter! :)**

 **Japanese words used:**  
 **Itee - Ouch**  
 **Ma - filler**  
 **Oji-san - Unlce**  
 **Ie - No**  
 **Nani - What**  
 **Baka - Idiot**  
 **Chibi - Little**  
 **Sempai - upperclassman**  
 **Ano - filler**  
 **Oyaji - Old man /dad**  
 **Arigatou - Thank you**


	27. Family and friends

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Prince of Tennis!**

 **...**

 **...**

 **"Parseltongue"**

 **...**

 **...**

They all stared when Ryoma started the match against Akutsu with a new move called Drive A and planting a ball directly between the Yamabuki player's eyes making him fall back and land on his back after skidding several meters.

"That is for threatening Hari," Ryoma said darkly.

Hari frowned slightly.

"Hari?" Ryoga asked from his place next to her. "What is he talking about?"

"Nanimonai," she said without looking away from the court. She looked at Ryoma and saw the protective note in his eyes as he glared at Akutsu who was getting back at his feet with a pensive frown on his face. He didn't look to be hurt or anything.

Ryoga frowned but didn't ask deciding to wait until later.

What followed was an intense and furious match and for a long time, it looked like Ryoma was going to be overpowered completely by Akutsu (who Hari reluctantly admitted had talent in tennis). He was a bad match for Ryoma and much too violent. But Ryoma being Ryoma never gave up.

She smiled at Kaido when he came and stood next to her ignoring Ryoga's speculative look as he did. He just hissed ( **"** **a whole lot of fun for one coin"** ) and pushed his hands into his pockets as he watched the match.

Hari would never admit the way her heart felt like it stopped for a moment when Ryoma fell back after what looked like a ball to the face but turned out to be an act, he had managed to get the racket up in time to hit the ball back over the net and gaining a point.

The whole team was tense with worry and anticipation and one could practically feel it in the air as they watched Ryoma fight against Akutsu with everything he got and evolving in front of their eyes.

"I can't get over how fast Ryo-chan is learning," Hari smiled proudly as she watched her little brother take yet another point against Akutsu.

 **"** **The little runt is a growing bush,"** Kaido hissed. "He is strong."

Hari's lips twitched amused as she glanced at her friend who was glaring at the match. She smiled and looked back as well.

Hari frowned though as she let her eyes linger on Akutsu. He looked like he was having fun and some of the harsh lines around his eyes and face vanished. He didn't look as hard and unapproachable as before and suddenly she was wondering if this was the side that Dan saw in this teen?

She looked to the Yamabuki side and found Dan easily standing in between the players where he was watching the match with an awed expression on his face and hands clutched together. He was kind of adorable in a puppy-sort-of-way.

"I wonder…" she said turning her eyes back to Akutsu.

...

"He won!" Hari laughed as she released Kaido's arm which she had grabbed at the last part of the match as they battled fiercely for the match point.

"He did," Kaido said allowing a small smile to cross his lips and Hari beamed up at him before she rushed onto the court and threw her arms around her little brother.

"You did it!" she cheered.

"Hari…breathe…" Ryoma gasped but Hari just continued to hug him. He gasped and tenderly patted her back and let out a relieved sigh as she pulled back and let go of him.

"You're crazy," Hari grinned at him.

"Oi! I don't want to hear that from you," Ryoma scoffed.

"Why? It's true," she laughed and ruffled his hair making his cap fall off and land on the ground behind him. He swatted her hand away with a small glare.

"Ryoma!"

"Ryoma-sama!"

The rest of the team joined them and soon surrounded them on the court.

"Are you fighting?" Momoshiro grinned as he took in the pout on Ryoma's face.

"Who? Us?" Hari smiled innocently.

Ryoma sighed and shook his head but smiled slightly when Hari threw an arm around his shoulder.

"You did great, Echizen!" Momoshiro grinned down at Ryoma.

"You really did," Oishi smiled.

"Sugoi, Ochibi" Kikumaru grinned.

Hari smiled amused at the pleased look on Ryoma's face that he tried to hide underneath a blank face. He was just so cute.

...

"Interesting match," a voice said and Hari looked up and saw Banda standing there looking at her with a smile on his face.

"Um, arigatou," she said and straightened up a little.

"You're Echizen Hari?" he asked even though he knew.

"Yes," she nodded.

"Nanjiro's kid?" he tilted his head a little and Hari shifted a little on her feet as she wondered what he wanted.

"He's my adoptive father," she said. "Why?"

"No reason," Banda smiled. "I was just curious. I knew him when he was a young player himself, you know. Before he became a pro."

"I see," Hari said.

"You think I'm an old man, right?" Banda said.

"Eh? No…" Hari blinked.

"Haha," he laughed. "No reason to be worried, Hari-chan. I am just curious about you. You played a very interesting match against Sengoku-kun."

"It was a fun match," Hari smiled.

"It sure was," Banda nodded. "I am curious to see what else you can do. You and your brother."

With that, he turned and left Hari standing there looking confused before she shrugged and sighed as she found herself attacked by a bouncy acrobat.

"Hari-chan!" Kikumaru yelled.

"I'm going to become deaf," she winced and somehow managed to get free from the bouncy boy. "Don't yell into my ear, Kikumaru-sempai."

He just laughed and she rolled her eyes fondly.

"What did Yamabuki's coach want with you?" Momoshiro asked as the rest joined them.

"I have no idea," she shrugged. "Talk. He asked if I were Nanjiro's kid…"

"Oyaji would be pleased with that," Ryoma smiled and Hari looked at him briefly before she looked away.

...

Hari stilled as she noticed something from the corner of her eyes as she was talking with the team and she narrowed her eyes.

"No." She suddenly said.

"Hari?" Ryoma asked looking at her curiously. The others also fell silent as they turned to look at her.

"Please tell me he didn't," Hari said and looked at Ryoma who smiled.

"Didn't what?" he asked but the growing smirk on his face had her narrowing her eyes at him.

"That he hasn't been hiding in the bushes all day spying on me?" Hari said.

Ryoma laughed while the others looked something between confused and curious. Hari groaned and hung her head.

"What are you talking about, nya?" Kikumaru asked unable to remain silent anymore.

Hari remained still for a moment before she straightened up and got a determined look on her face.

"Nanimonai," she said and started to walk.

"Where are you going?" Momoshiro called after her but she didn't answer as she stalked off toward the bushes where she had spotted the brown hair and monk outfit.

"Eh? Hari-chan!" Kikumaru called as well before he turned to Ryoma and Ryoga who both looked amused and in Ryoga's case also sympathetic. "Where she's going?"

"Cause trouble for Oyaji," Ryoma said.

"You mean your dad is the one she talked about spying?" Sakuno was the one who asked while Inoue and Shiba looked amused as they stood to the side watching them.

"That brat," Ryuzaki shook her head having come up to join them and heard what her granddaughter said. "He is impossible."

They heard a yelp and saw a man running with Hari taking off after him looking angry. They only saw the back of the man who was wearing a monk outfit and had short brown hair.

"Ah, he's an idiot," Ryoga nodded before he laughed and tossed his orange up in the air. "He should have made a run for it when he saw her coming toward him."

"He really should," Ryoma nodded.

"But why is your dad spying on Hari-chan?" Kawamura frowned.

Ryoma looked at him.

"He's worried she has met a boy and I'm sure he's trying to figure out if it's one of you," Ryoma deadpanned.

Fuji smiled looking amused.

"So, she has met a boy has she?" Fuji smiled.

"Eh? Hari-chan?" Kikumaru blinked owlishly. "No way!"

"She has?" Momoshiro frowned. "Who?"

Ryoga looked at them and laughed again suddenly looking even more amused and shook his head.

"Poor Hari…" he said as he turned around to walk away. "Poor, poor Hari… She'll never get a moment of peace…Bye Ryoma! See you at home!"

Ryoma looked after his brother for a second before looking back at the team.

"I don't know," Ryoma shrugged. "But Oyaji is always suspicious about Hari and boys… I think he is developing a complex. He is hopeless."

...

Hari stopped chasing Nanjiro when he jumped on his bike calling something about having a nice day or something. He was such an idiot! She couldn't believe that he had spent the entire day hidden behind bushes or trees just so he could spy on her!

She blinked. Okay…so maybe she could believe it. But who did that? He was crazy! Argh, that man was impossible. She ignored the part of her that warmed up at the thought that he cared enough to worry about her and wanted to protect her (even if he did go crazy).

She was also pleased that he had seen her first official match. She grinned. She had played her first official match and she had won! It had gone better than she could have dreamed! She felt like skipping and suddenly she really wanted to tell Seiichi.

He would be happy for her if he knew. She paused and bit down on her lower lip as she suddenly pictured Seiichi's proud smile and happy look in his violet-blue eyes as he looked at her… She flushed.

Why did she suddenly want to tell him? Well, he was her friend. A good friend. It was only natural to want to share something like this with a friend, right?

Right?

Would he mind if she called him?

She pulled out her phone and found his number and stared at it. She moved to press the call button before she hesitated. Would he think it was strange that she called him just to say that she had played tennis in an official match? Would he even care? Maybe he thought she was just bragging and that it was no big deal…

No. He wouldn't think that. She was sure.

Ugh. This was too complicated. She wanted to call him so she would. That's all there was to it. She pushed the call button and brought the phone to her ear.

...

Seiichi was seated on a small sofa and flipping through a magazine as he thought about how to proceed with his plan to make Hari his. He wanted to make it perfect.

"You're here," Sanada commented as he entered the room.

"What a welcome," Seiichi said dryly and looked up at his best friend. "You've been practising tennis?"

"Hai," Sanada said. "We made it to the Kanto Tournament, but there still are improvements to be made."

"You even tougher than me sometimes, Genichiro," Seiichi commented as before he looked back down at his botanist magazine.

"What are you doing?" Sanada said ignoring the last comment.

"Trying to decide what to do next," Seiichi said and glanced up at him. "I want to find the best way to show Hari-chan that I like her."

Sanada chocked on the water he was drinking as he turned stunned eyes to Seiichi.

"What?" Seiichi asked innocently.

"You openly admit that you like her?" Sanada asked.

Seiichi looked up at his best friend for a moment before looking back down at the magazine.

"Mochiron," Seiichi said. "To you I do."

Sanada would have rolled his eyes if he did that sort of thing, but instead, he let out a small sigh and put his water bottle down.

"I thought you did, but you never said anything," Sanada said.

Seiichi just shrugged.

"She's too popular for her own good," Seiichi frowned slightly. "So, I have to make a plan and win her heart before someone else does."

Sanada looked at him and smiled slightly leaning against his desk.

"You really do like her," he observed.

Seiichi nodded but before he could say anything else his phone rang and he pulled it out before smiling softly.

"Hello, Hari-chan," he greeted.

" _Hey, Sei-chan,"_ Hari's voice sounded a little breathless but happy.

"What has you smiling?" Seiichi asked curiously.

" _How do you know I'm smiling?"_ Hari asked.

"I can hear it in your voice," Seiichi answered. "So?"

" _I guess I am smiling,"_ Hari said with a light laugh. " _I just played my first official match today! And I won!"_

Seiichi arched a brow before he smiled.

"Really? That's great," Seiichi said. "Who did you play?"

Sanada arched a brow as he looked over at Seiichi who was smiling in a way that Sanada never had seen before and he blinked feeling a little stunned.

" _Sengoku Kiyosumi, of Yamabuki,"_ Hari said.

"That's amazing," Seiichi said. "He's a good player too."

" _I know,"_ Hari laughed. " _I was really surprised when Tezuka-Captain said I was playing. I thought he was joking at first, but then I remembered that Captain doesn't joke."_

Seiichi snorted. No, Tezuka wasn't one for jokes. At least not too many and not about tennis.

"So how was your match? Tell me," Seiichi said.

And she did. Well, she told him the fast overview of the match but it was enough to make Seiichi wish he had seen it.

"I look forward to hearing more about it," Seiichi said when she finished. "I wish I had seen it."

" _Mm,"_ Hari agreed.

"So, you saw Akutsu again too, then?" Seiichi asked with a frown.

" _I did, but it went fine,"_ Hari said. " _Ryo-chan beat him in their match. It was amazing! Ryo-chan really is amazing."_

"I see," Seiichi smiled. "I look forward to seeing your brother play, then."

" _You should," Hari agreed._

Seiichi could hear something in the distance and heard the sigh from Hari.

" _I'm sorry, Sei-chan, but I have to go,"_ she said, " _Ryo-chan and the others are coming and… I don't like the teasing look on Shu-chan's face…"_

"Fuji?" Seiichi asked.

" _Mhm, he's got that look on his face that says he knows something and can't wait to tease me with it,"_ Hari grumbled, " _but, anyway, I'll talk to you later! Bye!"_

"Okay, bye," Seiichi said and hung up.

...

"I guess that was Hari-chan?" Sanada broke the silence.

"Yes," Seiichi nodded absentmindedly.

"And she played in a match?" Sanada probed.

"Eh?" Seiichi blinked and looked at him before he nodded. "Yeah, she played Sengoku from Yamabuki and won."

"Impressive," Sanada noted and Seiichi nodded again. "So, what do you have planned for Hari-chan, Seiichi?"

...

Hari slipped away and went to the bar to get something to drink. She smiled at Kawamura's father who smiled back at her and handed her a bottle of coke.

"Arigatou," she said.

"You're welcome," he said kindly.

She looked around the room and took in her laughing teammates and their happiness over their victory made her smile. Momoshiro and Kikumaru were causing chaos like normal while Oishi tried to calm them down but laughed at the same time so he failed. Tezuka was seated next to Oishi and was mostly silent as his eyes scanned them all; it was like he was looking out for them all.

Fuji was eating some sushi that had Ryoma and the other first years looking a little green and Hari rolled her eyes at them. She had finally gotten free from his teasing and insinuating and she was a little worried about what exactly it was he knew…

"Hari-chan," Kawamura smiled at her and she blinked as she realised that he had come up to her. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Kawamura-sempai," she smiled at him. "Just got thirsty."

He nodded and accepted the soda from his father as well.

"You owe me a sushi-lesson by the way;" Hari suddenly said and turned to face the older boy.

"I do?" Kawamura blinked while his father looked amusedly at her.

"Yeah, you promised that you would teach me how to make sushi," Hari nodded.

"I see," Kawamura said. "Then, when do you want your lesson?"

Hari took a drink before smiling.

"What about now?" she asked.

"Now?" Kawamura looked confused and Hari nodded.

"Yeah, you can teach me some now, can't you?" she asked.

Kawamura looked over at his father who nodded in agreement.

"Okay," Kawamura agreed.

...

Hari watched as Kawamura showed her how to slice up the fish in perfect bits and the best way to hold the knife. She had never really thought it took that much effort to just slice up the fish correctly. But she had fun watching him and it looked like he had fun as well as he explained.

"You really look like you're enjoying this," Hari commented when they were finished.

"I guess," Kawamura rubbed the back of his head while he smiled embarrassedly. "I want to help my dad."

Hari nodded and glanced over at his father who was now talking with Ryuzaki.

"He is a kind man," she said.

"He is," Kawamura agreed.

Hari was silent for a moment.

"You knew Akutsu before, right?" she suddenly asked.

"I did," Kawamura frowned.

"Has he always been that…rough," she grimaced slightly at the last word but it was the best she knew how to describe him.

"He has had a tough life," Kawamura said after a moment. "His mother is rather young and a single mum. He was bullied because of it and it made him…well, angry."

Hari frowned slightly as she thought

"I know that what he does is wrong and that he provokes a lot of people," Kawamura continued, "but I still worry about him. He does have a softer side, but he rarely shows it."

Hari glanced at Kawamura with a pensive look on her face.

"I see," she said thoughtfully before she smiled. "You are very kind, Kawamura-sempai."

He blushed embarrassed and looked away but she just smiled.

"Hari, we should go," Ryoma called over to her.

"Alright!" She said and looked back at Kawamura. "Thank you for the lesson, sempai."

...

Hari raised an unimpressed brow at Nanjiro who was looking at her suspiciously. Rinko rolled her eyes at her husband as she passed him and pulled Hari into to a hug.

"Congratulations on your first official match, Hari-chan," Rinko smiled when she pulled back. "I wish I had been there to see it."

"Thank you," Hari smiled back at her.

"You let those boys touch you way too much;" Nanjiro whine interrupted them but they ignored him.

"I heard you did great," Rinko said. "Ryoga said you played like you hadn't done anything else for years."

Hari blushed and looked over at Ryoga who was lying on the sofa looking perfectly relaxed but she met his eyes and saw his smile.

"I don't know about that," Hari said modestly. "I know I made mistakes and that Sengoku-san probably underestimated me a little, but it was a fun match."

"That's what's important," Rinko nodded.

"I mean, the way that bouncy boy grabbed you and hugged you," Nanjiro continued to rambled and even started to pace up and down the floor.

"Are you hungry?" Rinko asked looking at Hari and Ryoma.

"We just ate," Hari said. "We celebrated at Kawamura-sempai's place. His father owns a sushi restaurant."

"And that other boy…the one who ruffled your hair…"

"Really?" Rinko said. "That's nice."

Hari and Ryoma both nodded.

"Kawamura-sempai even gave Hari a lesson," Ryoma smiled and Nanjiro spun around to stare at her.

"Which one is that?" he demanded.

"The kind, shy one," Hari rolled her eyes. "Honestly, Otou-chan, you are impossible…"

She stilled when she realised what she had said and so did everyone else. Nanjiro blinked his wide hazel eyes at her.

"I…um…" Hari flushed and looked down as she bit her lower lip. How could she be so careless and let that slip out? What must… "Ouch…"

She suddenly found herself yanked into a tight bone-crushing hug that threatened to cut off her air supply. It took a moment for her to realise that Nanjiro was the one who was hugging her and she felt him shake slightly as he did.

"Finally!" Nanjiro cheered and started to spin around the room and since he still hadn't let go of Hari she was being spun around as well but she didn't really mind. She just leaned into his hug and allowed him to hold her up as he spun around and around while laughing.

Eventually, he put her down and grinned down at her with the widest grin she'd seen on his face. She smiled nervously back feeling uncertain but at the same time hopeful… this didn't seem like the reaction of someone who was upset at being called 'Otou-chan' by mistake.

"You finally called me Otou-chan!" Nanjiro said.

"I…you don't mind?" Hari asked gingerly.

"Mind? Of course not!" Nanjiro said. "I've been waiting for you to do it."

"We have waited for you to be ready or decide on your own that you wanted to call us by Otou-chan and Okaa-chan," Rinko smiled warmly and pulled Hari into another hug and held her for a long moment. "We're so happy if you want to call us that."

Hari swallowed the tears she felt coming and hugged Rinko back and let out a staggering breath when she felt Nanjiro hug them both.

"Okaa-chan," she whispered. "Otou-chan."

"Our girl," Nanjiro said quietly.

Hari was finally released from the hug only to find herself in front of Ryoga who was smiling at her and blinked when he reached out and ruffled her hair.

"I have a new little sister," he said and she blinked again. "You should call me Nii-chan."

Hari couldn't help it. She laughed and nodded.

"Okay, Nii-chan," she said and he grinned and hugged her.

"Can't be the only one here to not hug you," he whispered in her ear. "Or… Ryoma, come over here…"

"What? No…" Ryoma protested and Hari heard him yelp when Ryoga managed to grab him and pulled him into their hug and she could hear Ryoma grumble something but he did hug her as well.

...

Hari yawned as she walked through the school the next day but she couldn't help but smile even if she was tired. She had not fallen asleep until late because she kept going over everything that had happened, the match and then the family time. She still felt the warmth from their hugs and their acceptance.

She had never felt so…accepted and safe and…and home before in her life. The way they lit up when she called them 'Otou-chan' and 'Okaa-chan' would remain as one of her happiest memories for a long time. She was sure she could cast a Patronus charm with that memory.

"You look happy," Fuji said as he came up beside her. "Is it your boyfriend who makes you so happy?"

Hari rolled her eyes and shot him a glare.

"Ha-ha, very funny," she said. "I told you yesterday, I don't have a boyfriend."

"Hmm," Fuji smiled his signature smile, "I don't believe you."

"Whatever," Hari said just as they reached the tennis court and joined the others for their practice.

"Hari-chan," Kikumaru waved and she blinked confused for a moment before she realised that Oishi was holding his shirt. So that was why he hadn't hug-attacked her yet.

"Hey, Kikumaru-sempai," Hari waved back.

The practice started when Tezuka got there having talked with Ryuzaki about something.

...

Hari looked up when she noticed a new person enter the court and she looked at him curiously. He was dressed in a pair of black trousers and a simple white shirt, it was clearly a part of a school uniform but it looked more laid back without the jacket. And without the jacket, she had no way to see which school he belonged to. His hair was also messy and dark and even from where she stood she could tell he had green eyes. Much like hers, actually.

Who was he? She wondered curiously just as Oishi and Inui noticed him and Oishi, polite as he was, asked who he was. The boy looked a little startled like he had hoped to remain unnoticed but soon smiled confidently.

"I'm Rikkai Dai Jr. High's junior ace," he said with a smirk, "Kirihara Akaya."

Hari felt her eyes widen as she looked at him with a new interest in her eyes. So he was one of Seiichi's teammates? She did remember Seiichi talking about someone named Kirihara Akaya before and knew he was looked at like the "baby" of their team.

Hari ignored Inui and Oishi's comments as she observed Kirihara who now rubbed the back of his head sheepishly and grinned.

"I came to do some spying," he said bluntly and Hari felt her lips twitch as she noticed the temperature rise around her as the club started to whisper and mutter among themselves. She eyes Arai because he was the one most likely to lose control of his temper, but so far, so good…

Hari stepped to the side and pulled out her phone and hit the call button.

" _Hello?"_

"Hey, are you missing a player?" Hari asked.

" _Eh? How did you know that?"_ Seiichi asked surprised and heard him shush someone at his side.

"Because I'm psychic," Hari smiled.

" _No, seriously, how did you know?"_ Seiichi asked.

"He's here," Hari said.

" _Where? At your school?"_ Seiichi sounded confused and she smiled.

"Yes," Hari said. " _Currently he's trying to pick a fight with Tezuka-Captain… I wonder if Tezuka-Captain can actually frown any more than he currently is…"_

Seiichi sighed.

" _Seriously,"_ he muttered. " _I'm sorry."_

"Nah, don't worry," Hari said before she stopped to take in what was happening now. He hit a ball back to Arai (who of course had snapped and hit a ball at him) and then, of course, the ball missed Arai (was that on purpose?) and hit Momoshiro in the face. Causing Momoshiro to fall back and lose his grip on his racket that flew through the air and hit Kachiro who was carrying a basket full of tennis balls….which led to tennis balls all around the court and somehow ended up with Kaido with his drink over his head, hissing and spitting as he glared doom over the entire club as he demanded to know who had done it.

It was very much like watching dominos fall…

"On second thought…." Hari blinked at the chaos that erupted. "I think maybe he should run before Ka-chan kills him…"

" _I would come to get him, but I'm tied up with our practice match,"_ Seiichi sighed. " _I can't leave…"_

"Where are you?" Hari asked. "I'll get him to you."

" _Really? Are you sure?"_ Seiichi asked.

"It's no problem," Hari said before adding in her mind; I get to see you again too.

...

"Captain?" Hari approached Tezuka and Ryuzaki while the others went for their run. She saw the arched brows since she hadn't joined the others and winced slightly.

"Yes?" he looked at her.

"I wondered if I may be excused?" she asked.

"Why?"

"Well," she cleared her throat and fought off her blush. "I know Rikkai Dai's Captain and I talked to him… He apologizes for the mess Kirihara-kun caused, by the way, and I sort of promised that I would get him, Kirihara-kun I mean, to them."

Tezuka arched a brow again as he looked at her while Ryuzaki looked pensively at her.

"You know Yukimura Seiichi?" Tezuka asked.

"Yes, Captain," Hari nodded. "He's a friend."

There were no signs of surprise on Tezuka's face as he stared at her blankly. Hari felt like squirming but kept herself still.

"I didn't know that," Tezuka finally said.

"No, I guess I haven't told anyone," Hari shrugged. "It hasn't come up."

"Is this the boy Nanjiro is sure you have met but don't know who is?" Ryuzaki asked curiously. (å

Hari glanced at her.

"Who knows?" Hari shrugged, "perhaps. But Sei-chan is just a friend."

 _Why did it hurt her heart to say those words?_

"I see," Ryuzaki said.

"Alright," Tezuka said. "If you complete a series of training by yourself by tomorrow, I will allow you to leave now."

Hari smiled and nodded.

"Thank you, Tezuka-Captain," Hari waved and turned around and ran off after Kirihara.

...

"Oi!" Hari called out when she saw Kirihara standing leaned against a wall watching the team make their laps.

"Eh?" he turned his head and looked at her and she saw his eyes widen when he took in her training clothes. "Are you a player for the boy's team? Wait, I saw you on the courts, didn't I?"

"You probably did," Hari nodded. "Nice to meet you, Kirihara-kun. I'm Echizen Hari."

He blinked at her.

"So, what do you want?" he asked tilting his head. "A match? I'm sorry but I don't really play girls…"

Hari rolled her eyes.

"As if I would play you," she said. "Now, I've come to take you back to your team."

"What?" he asked surprised.

"Yes, so please wait here while I go and change," Hari said and turned to go to her changing room.

7 minutes later she was out and she found Kirihara waiting for her and looked at her curiously.

"Why are you going to take me back to my team?" he asked when she walked up to him. "Did your coach order you to?"

Hari snorted.

"No," she said. "I asked Tezuka-Captain if I could be excused early because I promised Sei-chan to take you back to your team. Now, come on, Kirihara-kun!"

Hari grabbed his arm and dragged him with her toward the school gates.

...

Kirihara watched the girl who had by now let go of his arm but was leading him in what seemed like circles. They had taken a bus and since he wasn't on his own he hadn't fallen asleep, well, trying to figure out this girl might be one reason for not falling asleep. But now, after they had stepped off the bus, they walked in circles and…yeah, that was the bus stop again.

"We're back where we started," Kirihara commented.

"It moved," Hari scowled.

"What moved? The bus stop?" Kirihara asked incredulously.

"Hey, don't mock," Hari pouted at him. "Sei-chan didn't really explain how to get to the school you are playing your practice match…"

Kirihara frowned again as he wondered who 'Sei-chan' was because it couldn't be the one he was thinking about. There was no way… but who else? Again he looked at the girl with the dark auburn hair and green eyes as she looked around.

They started to walk again and this time they walked in a different direction, so hopefully, they would end up where they were supposed to be. Kirihara looked at the smile playing on her lips as she looked around and pulled out her phone before putting it back.

She was a strange one. And he had no idea what to think about her, she was pretty. Really pretty, he thought as he glanced at her again. And the way she just told him that she was going to take him back to his team… and he had no idea why he even followed her.

"Ha! There it is!" She grinned and pointed as she cast a look over at Kirihara. "I found it!"

Kirihara smiled amused and shook his head.

"Good for you, then," he said.

"Oh, come on," she said. "I'm sure your matches are almost done, but hopefully your team is still here… Sei-chan hasn't said anything about leaving, so…"

...

"Is Akaya coming?" Marui asked looking at Seiichi.

"Hai," Seiichi nodded. "He should be here soon…though…"

He frowned.

"Seiichi?" Sanada arched a brow at him.

"Hari-chan is bringing him," Seiichi told him.

"Hari-chan?" Marui and Nio looked at each other.

"Hari-chan?" Sanada repeated and looked at Seiichi. "Then we could end up waiting for a while… she's a master on getting lost, isn't she?"

Seiichi sighed but he nodded. The team was gathered around him and talking lightly among themselves while they waited, while the other team had already left.

"I wonder who this Hari-chan is," Marui said.

"She's probably a friend of Yukimura-Captain," Yanagi said.

Marui rolled his eyes but didn't say anything else.

"Sei-chan!" a voice suddenly called and they all looked around to see a girl with long auburn hair and green eyes coming toward them with Kirihara slightly behind her. She was grinning and waved as she skipped toward them leaving Kirihara behind as she made her way toward Seiichi.

"Hari-chan," Seiichi got to his feet and smiled softly and his eyes widen slightly when he felt arms around him and then her cheek right against his before she pulled back just as suddenly as she had hugged him.

He stared at her and noticed the blush in her cheeks as she looked down and shifted a little on her feet.

"Hello, Hari-chan," Sanada said breaking the tense and slightly awkward silence that had occurred between them and Seiichi cast his best friend a grateful look.

"Sanada-kun," Hari smiled at him and seemed to have gotten control over herself again. "Nice to see you again. How are you?"

"I'm fine," he said. "And you?"

"Fine," she smiled. "So, did you win?"

"Of course we did," Seiichi said and Hari looked at him and laughed.

"Of course," she agreed.

"Wait!" Kirihara burst out and Hari looked around to see him stare at her and Seiichi with wide eyes.

"What?" Hari asked him.

"Yukimura-Captain is the one you call 'Sei-chan'?!" Kirihara asked.

Hari blinked and looked at Seiichi who looked impassively at Kirihara.

"Well, yeah," Hari frowned, "who else would it be?"

Seiichi just smiled and shook his head while his team looked a little lost and a whole lot of confused.

"Um, Captain-san?" Marui asked. "Who's your friend?"

Seiichi looked at him for a moment before he looked at Hari who blinked and smiled.

"Echizen Hari," Seiichi said. "Hari-chan, this is my team."

He continued to give the names and she nodded at them as she looked at them as they were introduced.

"Nice to meet you," Hari said when Seiichi finished.

"Hello!" Marui grinned. "Do you like cake?"

Hari blinked at him.

"I love treacle tart," she said.

"Ooh, I've never had that before," Marui said his eyes lighting up. "Is it really good?"

"It's the best dessert that's been made ever!" Hari declared. "My best friend's mother back in England makes the best treacle tart in the world, though the one at my old boarding school was also very good."

"I must try it one time," Marui said and pulled out a small book. When he noticed her looking at the book he explained, "it's my book of cakes and desserts I must eat before I die."

"You're going to freak her out, Marui," Jackal sighed.

"I'm not freaking her out, Jackal" Marui protested.

"Puri, puri," Nio smiled at Hari. "Do you attend school here in Tokyo, Echizen, puri?"

"I attend Seigaku," Hari answered.

"Seigaku, huh?" Yanagi said tilting his head slightly and she noticed that he too had his eyes closed.

"Do you play tennis, Echizen-san?" Jackal asked stopping his bickering with Marui to ask.

"I do," Hari grinned.

"She just won her first official match against Sengoku of Yamabuki yesterday," Seiichi added with a proud note in his voice. Hari flushed lightly as she glanced over at Seiichi who had been rather quiet so far, just observing her talk with his team.

"You did?" Kirihara asked and looked at her sceptically.

"What? You don't think a girl can do it?" she arched a brow at him.

"Well…" Kirihara said.

"Akaya," Sanada said sharply and the younger boy snapped his mouth shut and looked away.

"Interesting," Yanagi said. "Interesting data…"

"Indeed, puri," Nio agreed and looked at Hari with a new interest in his eyes.

...

Somehow Hari ended up joining them for their dinner and sat beside Seiichi at the restaurant nearest the train station. She smiled as she observed them talking and celebrating their win, but she noticed that they were much calmer than her own team.

"Thank you," Seiichi said bringing her attention over at him.

"For what?" Hari asked curiously.

"For helping to bring Akaya back to us," Seiichi said. "I'm sure you had to go out of your way to do it."

"It's fine," Hari smiled shyly. "I didn't mind."

"He is a good kid, but he can be a little…" Seiichi sighed.

"He's amusing," Hari said. "I very much liked the way he made our training grounds a complete mess and even got a reaction from Tezuka-Captain. I don't think I've ever seen him frown that much before…"

Seiichi shook his head and frowned a little.

"Calm down, Sei-chan," Hari said and nudged his shoulder lightly. "We're used to chaos. We got Kikumaru on our team and Momo-chan… those two can create chaos out of thin air."

"And you?" Seiichi arched a brow at her and she noticed that the slight tension that had been around him was gone and smiled.

"Me? I have no idea what you're talking about, Sei-chan," Hari protested with a mock glare. "I never create chaos."

"Sure, you don't," Seiichi snorted.

Hari laughed as she shifted in her seat a little so she could more easily face him. Neither was aware of the watching team or the curious and wondering looks they got from the others, or the knowing look that Sanada had in his eyes as he looked at Seiichi.

...

"I thought you were going with them back home," Hari said looking over at Seiichi who was still standing beside her while his team had left to catch the train.

"I will stay in town for a couple of more days," Seiichi said.

Hari smiled as she looked down to hide just how pleased she was hearing that.

"I see," was all she said.

"So, do you have time or do you have to go home?" Seiichi asked.

"I suppose I have some time," Hari said and looked at him. "Why?"

"No reason," Seiichi said calmly. "Just wondered if you wanted to take a walk with me."

Hari looked at him for a moment longer before she nodded.

"Sure," she said. "That sounds good."

They walked in silence for a little while and again they ended up down by the river. Hari glanced at the water before looking back up at the path in front of her.

"How're your legs?" she asked breaking the silence.

"Fine," Seiichi said. "I'm a little tired but nothing too bad."

"Should you be here and walking then?" Hari asked worriedly. "We can go and sit down somewhere…"

"It's fine, Hari-chan," Seiichi reassured her.

"Okay," she said but still cast him a worried look.

"So, tell me more about your match," he said.

Hari grinned and started to go into more detail about the match.

...

Finally, she arrived home and found herself still smiling, though a little confused by the last comment from Seiichi.

" _Find out what they mean and answer me tomorrow, after you've finished school," his voice was calm but there was a note of nerves underneath that she didn't understand. "I will wait for you at the botanic garden we met last time."_

With those words, he had pushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear and pressed a soft kiss to her hand like he normally did before he turned around and walked away and leaving a confused Hari.

Find out what, what meant?

"Hari-chan," Nanako's voice interrupted her thoughts.

"Hey," Hari smiled slightly.

"You got a delivery while you were out," Nanako said with a smile.

"I did?" Hari asked curiously.

"I put them in your room before Nanjiro-oji-san saw them," Nanako said and winked. "He probably would have a heart attack."

Hari looked confused.

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

"You'll see," Nanako said and nodded toward the stairs. "You should go and find out."

Hari gave her one last confused look before she started to walk up the stairs and to her room.

...

She paused as soon as she stepped into the room and saw the beautiful bouquet of flowers that was standing in a vase on her desk. She felt her mouth drop open as she looked at the flowers and she tried to figure out when she had ever gotten flowers last. Never, she realised. She had never gotten flowers before.

Had…Had Seiichi been the one to give them to her?

He must have been. She walked over to the flowers staring at them all the same. They were beautiful but she had no idea about what kind all of them were. She didn't move for a long moment just staring at them. There must be at least seven different types of flowers in the bouquet.

She reached out and let her finger touch the petal of a lily. She loved lilies. Something fell from the bouquet and she looked down at the desk and saw a card.

 _Hari-chan,_

 _Congratulations on your first official match! Flowers have their own language and these tell what I want to tell you. I will let you figure out the hidden meaning._

 _Yukimura Seiichi._

She really did need to find out what kind of flowers these were and their meaning, but how could she do that? She looked at them and wished that these were the kind of flowers they used in Herbology because that would have increased the chance of her knowing them.

She smiled.

 **...**

 **...**

 **AN:** **What do you think? XD**

 **Happy New Year! :D Hope you have had a good start on the new year! :)**

 **Japanese words used:**  
 **Nanimonai - Nothing**  
 **Sugoi - Awesome**  
 **Ochibi - Little**  
 **Arigatou - Thank you**  
 **Sempai - upperclassman**  
 **Oyaji - Old man/dad**  
 **Hai - Yes**  
 **Mochiron - Of course**  
 **Otou-chan - Dad**  
 **Okaa-chan - Mom**


	28. Flowers and their meaning

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Prince of Tennis!**

 **...**

 **...**

Hari paced up and down her room casting a glance at the flowers every other second and a smile broke out on her face every time. She couldn't help the way a burst of happiness and excitement burst through her just by watching them.

Though, she was not sure what he was trying to say… just what kind of language did flowers have? She had to find out and she had to find out before tomorrow because he was waiting for her and he would be expecting an answer to whatever it was he was trying to say.

If only Neville had been here, she thought. He would have known and he would have been able to help her. Even if it was magical plants he knew most about he would also know some of the muggle ones. She was sure.

She had to find out but she couldn't ask Ryoma or Nanjiro… She grimaced at the thought. They would become super overprotective and never allow her out of the house again. At least Nanjiro would. While Ryoma would frown at her and sulk, he would follow her around the school and never let her out of his sight. And then he would tease. She couldn't handle the teasing, at least not right now.

Where was Hermione when she needed her?

Oh, in Britain. Right. Hari frowned slightly and glanced at the calendar that was hanging on her wall and saw that it was the 17th of June. Meaning that they were probably on their way or maybe already back home… oh, this time-difference was confusing her. Anyway, the school year was over.

She closed her eyes for a moment as she so easily was hit with images of Ron and Hermione on the Hogwarts Express, talking and laughing and not forget bickering together as they were on their way home to their families. Families, that would be waiting for them at Kings Cross Station and would be happy to see them.

Something Hari always had envied them. What would it be like to step off the Hogwarts Express and be greeted with smiles and hugs instead of scowls and impatient snaps to hurry up and stop being such a burden?

She could so easily picture herself walking with Ron and Hermione through the barriers that hid platform 9 ¾ from Kings Cross Station. Instead of being met by the Dursley's she was met by Nanjiro, Rinko and Ryoma. They would hug her and greet her warmly. Nanjiro would look at Ron and any other boy suspiciously while Ryoma would pretend he didn't like her hugs but being pleased by them all the same. Rinko would be warm and safe and calm. Like she always was.

She sighed knowing that this would never happen. She wouldn't experience this, but at least she had the real thing here. And it wasn't like she wanted to go back because she didn't. She wouldn't want to leave this place but she suddenly realised just how much she missed her two best friends.

Did they even miss her? She hadn't gotten a letter from them, but perhaps their owls couldn't reach her? She was in a faraway country. Oh no! She hoped Ron hadn't tried to use Errol because she was sure that the old owl would not survive a trip all the way to Japan.

She caught sight of the flowers again and she inhaled deeply. She was getting off track. The flowers. The wonderful and beautiful flowers that Seiichi had sent her and told her to figure out what they were saying.

Right.

She could do this.

She couldn't do this. How was she supposed to do this? She needed Hermione! But Hermione wasn't here, so who else could she ask?

An! She could ask An!

...

"So, why did I have to come over?" An asked when Hari opened the door for her. "What's the emergency?"

"Shush!" Hari said looking over her shoulder before she reached out and grabbed An's arm. "Come on."

An blinked but she followed Hari up the stairs passing a curious looking Ryoma who was on his way down the stairs.

"Hari?" Ryoma called.

"Later, Ryo-chan," Hari said without looking at him.

An waved over her shoulder at a bewildered looking Ryoma. Hari pulled her into her room and closed the door behind them with a sharp click.

An looked around the room and her eyes glanced over the bookshelves and the bed before landing on the desk and the flowers on the desk.

"Nice flowers," An said.

"I know," Hari said sounding stressed. "I have to figure out what they mean."

An blinked.

"What they mean?" she repeated.

"Hai," Hari said. "Before tomorrow. He's waiting for an answer and I have to figure out what the flowers are trying to say."

An looked at her confused and then looked at the flowers.

"The flowers are trying to say something?" she asked.

Hari looked at her and then at the flowers before she looked back at An.

"Ie," she said. "Well, yes. But, no. He's trying to say something and used flowers to say it and now I have to try to figure out what they mean."

An still felt confused.

"A boy?" she smiled. "A boy gave them to you?"

"Hai," Hari said.

"A boy gave you flowers?" An smiled wider.

"Hai," Hari said again.

An laughed, "and now you're freaking out trying to figure them out. Kawai ne! So, who is he?"

Hari flushed and bit her lower lip as she tried to stop the wild movements of what seemed to be butterflies in her stomach.

"Come on, Hari-chan," An said impatiently and dragged Hari with her over to the bed and they both sat down on it. "Tell me. Who sent you the flowers? Was it Saeki?"

"Ie," Hari shook her head. "It wasn't him."

"Then who? Come on, don't make me drag it out of you," An said bouncing a little as she leaned forward.

Hari looked at her for a moment and she could feel the faint burning in her cheeks telling her that she was blushing.

"Yukimura Seiichi," Hari admitted quietly and suddenly it felt even more real.

An blinked.

"I've heard the name before, but where…" An said thoughtfully.

"He's the Captain of Rikkai Dai's tennis team," Hari explained.

"Honto?" An said and looked at the flowers again. "And he sent you flowers?"

"Hai," Hari nodded.

"So, do you like him?" An asked.

Hari blinked and stared at An before she looked away.

"Um, do you know what flowers mean?" Hari asked changing the subject.

"Hari-chan," An whined. "Come on. Tell me."

"I don't know," Hari said after a pause. "I…."

An looked at her for a moment before she pushed off the bed and walked over to the flowers.

"What type of flowers are these?" she asked and Hari looked over at her relieved.

"I don't know," Hari said. "I know the lily, of course. And that's amaryllis; he pointed the one out for me once when we were at a botanic garden. I don't know that one or that one…but that's a daisy, and that's violets."

An nodded and looked at the flowers again.

"So you know the lily, amaryllis, daisy and violet," An said, "so that leaves three types you don't know."

"Right," Hari said.

"Okay, we can figure it out," An said. "Wait; did you say a botanic garden?"

"I went to one here in Tokyo with him once," Hari said. "He really likes flowers and gardening, and it was fun."

An stared at her and Hari was getting a little uncomfortable.

"What?" Hari asked.

"I didn't know you were already dating him," An said.

"What? I'm not dating him," Hari said. An raised a brow sceptically. "I'm not!"

"If you say so," An said in a voice that clearly said she didn't believe her and Hari frowned at her.

...

Hari managed to borrow a laptop from Ryoga who had given her a curious look when she asked but he hadn't asked anything so Hari counted it as a win. She just hoped he wouldn't start asking later. At least not in front of Nanjiro.

They spent the next hour searching for flowers and the meaning of flowers on the internet. There was a lot of information about flowers and their meaning so Hari read and read and read about it.

"Okay," Hari said having written down the list of flowers and their meaning. She couldn't help but stare at it and read it over and over again.

 _Amaryllis – pride, determination_

 _Bluebell – humility, kindness_

 _Chrysanthemum – cheerfulness_

 _Daisy – Innocence, hope_

 _Lily, calla – beauty_

 _Morning glory – affection_

 _Violet – loyalty, devotion, faithfulness_

Her eyes read the words over and over and she couldn't stop reading them. Just what was he trying to say? Words like hope, beauty, affection… devotion, and so many more. They were wonderful words and they filled her with warmth and made her feel…something.

"Wow," An said looking over her shoulder and reading the list. "That's some statement."

Hari looked up at her and felt a rush of desperation go through her.

"What does he mean?" she asked. "What does he mean?!"

An blinked.

"He likes you," An said bluntly.

"He…what?" Hari asked almost incredulously. "No, he…can't."

"Well, the flowers says he does," An said. "The morning glory, for example, says he has affection for you and the lily says he finds you beautiful. The bluebell says he finds you humble and kind. The Daisy says that he has hope for the two of you. I could go on, but I think the flowers say it clear enough."

Hari sat back on her chair and stared at the flowers. She had stared at them so long that she knew she would always be able to remember them.

"But…nande?" she whispered.

Why would he like her? How could he? She was not good enough. She wasn't worthy of someone like him, he was so kind and gentle and, and…and perfect. So he was completely out of her reach.

"Nande?" An looked at her. "Why not? You're beautiful and funny, and kind. He would be lucky to have someone like you liking him back and he has clearly seen that."

Hari just shook her head.

"But…what if we have interpreted the flowers wrong?" Hari asked after a long pause. "What if that's not what he wanted to say?"

An took one of Hari's hand in hers and squeezed it.

"We didn't interpret the flowers wrong;" An said surely. "We double checked, and then triple checked them with different sources. That is the meaning of these flowers and he really does like you, Hari-chan."

Hari bit down on her lower lip to stop the other protests threatening to come out of her mouth and tried to smile back at An who was looking slightly worried at her.

"Okay," she whispered.

"So, do you like him?" An asked curiously.

Hari felt like someone had hit her over the head because she felt like she was spinning as she remembered the way he smiled and made her feel flustered, he had the ability to make her feel like she was forgetting what she was about to say. And the way he kissed her hand…

Oh my. She did like him.

She really liked him.

She had been so blind. She had not recognised it, but it was obvious now that she thought about it. She thought about him constantly and wanted to talk to him, she even looked for reasons to call him. She hoped he was coming to Tokyo so that she could see him.

"I do," she whispered. "I like him."

An giggled as she pulled Hari up and into a hug.

"I knew it!" She giggled as she hugged her. "I knew it!"

Hari just hugged her back not able to really say anything as the realisation hit her.

She liked Yukimura Seiichi and he liked her. Possibly. Maybe. Probably?

...

The night was spent tossing and turning in her bed as she went over everything from her time spent with Seiichi and she couldn't help but analyse everything. He must think she was strange and weird. How could he, the Captain of Rikkai Dai(!), like her?

Hari jerked up in the bed and remained seated as she tried to figure out where that loud obnoxious sound came from before she realised that it was the alarm. She groaned as she reached out to shut it up and fell back on the bed staring up at the ceiling in the barely lit room.

She had only fallen asleep in the early morning, meaning that she had not slept much at all during the night. And not enough with that she had dreamt about her aunt and uncle. Them telling her that she was just an unwanted burden and always messed everything up. She ruined everything and put others in danger.

So what could anyone possibly see in her?

An's words from the day before came back and she wished that they were true. That she really was beautiful and funny and that Seiichi liked her because of that. That he saw something in her that made him think she was worth liking.

"Hari-chan! You up yet?" she heard Nanako's voice from outside the room. "You have to get up soon in order to have breakfast before school."

Hari sighed and pushed herself up again and threw her legs over the edge of the bed.

"I'm up," she called back and heard Nanako walk away.

Just then Hedwig came flying in through the opened window and came directly over to her and settled on the arm Hari held out.

"Hey, Hedwig," Hari smiled and stroked her feathers with her free hand. "You think Seiichi really likes me? That he could?"

Hedwig hooted softly and nibbled affectionately at her making her smile slightly.

After a quick shower and getting ready for the day she went downstairs and into the kitchen.

"Ohayo, Hari-chan," Rinko smiled.

"Morning, Okaa-chan," Hari said quietly.

"Are you okay?" Rinko asked worriedly. "You're pretty late this morning."

Hari shrugged and grabbed a toast.

"I just didn't sleep that well," Hari said.

"Are you sick?" Rinko asked and reached over to feel her forehead.

Hari blinked and shook her head but smiled slightly at the care shown. It pushed away some of the darker thoughts that had crept in during the night.

"I'm fine," she said.

"Alright," Rinko still frowned slightly. "I still think you look rather pale."

Hari took a bit of the toast and looked around and noticed that Ryoma wasn't there.

"Where's Ryo-chan?" she asked.

"He has already eaten and went upstairs to check on Karupin," Rinko said.

Hari nodded and finished her toast and glass of milk.

"Okaa-chan," Hari finally said and bit down at her lip while clenching her hands together.

Rinko smiled and looked at her.

"Yes, sweetie?" she asked.

Hari hesitated before she shook her head and got up.

"No, it was nothing," she said. "I should go or I'll be late."

Rinko looked a little worried but nodded and pressed a kiss on her forehead as she passed her.

"Okay, have a nice day," Rinko said.

...

Seiichi was nervous.

He couldn't sit still during breakfast and his mind went over his plans and he couldn't help but wonder if she would show up or not. Would she figure out what the flowers meant?

Yes, he really did believe that she would do that. If she wanted to. Did she want to?

He frowned slightly. He was thinking too much. It wasn't normal for him to do that. Well, he loved to think and figure things out but he would observe and analyse from a distance. It was part of what made him a good tennis player and a good captain. But with Hari… he wanted to figure her out, but he didn't want to sit back and do it. He wanted to talk to her and be around her. And every time he thought he had her figured out, she did something that had him confused again.

He loved it. She was such a weird and amazing girl and he hadn't even noticed when he started to like her before he already did. Maybe it even was that first conversation on the bus when he first met her and she talked out loud to herself. He had thought she was interesting then and hoped he would run into her again.

Then he had seen her at the train station back home and he hadn't been able to really believe that she was really there and they talked. He talked more than he normally would and he didn't even realise it until he was on his own later that night and thought back at their meeting.

He had asked her to meet him the next day then and had said it wasn't a date. But he had wanted it to be a date. He had kept seeking her out, calling her and thinking about her and before he knew it he was in deep.

To be honest with himself he did think that the last few times they had met, the walks by the river, had been dates. In his mind, they had been and he really wished that it was true. He knew she didn't think of it as dates and that she thought they were just friends that were hanging out.

But he would change that. He would make it clear for her that he liked her and that he wanted her to be his girlfriend.

"Seiichi-nii-chan?" Minoru looked at him curiously.

"Ah, hey, Minoru-chan," Seiichi smiled.

"What are you doing?" Minoru asked.

"I'm trying to plan a date," Seiichi said honestly.

"A date?" Minoru asked with a smile. "With Hari-chan?"

"Hai," Seiichi nodded.

"About time," Minoru grinned and sat down. "Can I help?"

Seiichi blinked and looked at his cousin.

"You want to help?" Seiichi asked.

"Mochiron," Minoru nodded. "I like Hari-chan."

"You do, do you?" Seiichi leaned back in his seat at the guest room he was using during his visit. "Well, I guess you can help me if you want."

Minoru beamed.

"What do you need me to do?" he asked.

...

Momoshiro watched Hari who was not paying attention in class and was staring out of the window looking distracted. Her head was resting in the palm of her hand and her other hand was doodling at her notebook.

He wondered what she was thinking about. Normally she would take notes and share them with him after class, but now…she wasn't. He couldn't help but watch her with a curious look.

The teacher either didn't notice or didn't care as he went on with his lecture without commenting on Hari's distraction and Momoshiro was getting more and more curious.

When the teacher finally ended the class and the others got up talking and laughing Momoshiro stood and looked over at Hari again to find her still staring out of the window not showing any sign of moving or that she knew that the class was over.

Momoshiro looked over and saw that Kaido also was watching Hari before he looked back at him and they exchanged a puzzled look.

"Hey, Hari-chan!" Momoshiro called loudly walking over to her and nudged her making her startle and look around before looking up at him.

"Ah, Momo-chan," she said. "What?"

"The class is over," Momoshiro said and exchanged another look with Kaido.

Hari looked around and frowned.

"Oh," she said and started to gather her book.

"What has you so distracted, Hari-chan?" Momoshiro asked.

"Nanimonai," she said without looking at him.

"Nothing?" Momoshiro repeated incredulously. "You haven't paid attention to any of the classes today."

Hari just shrugged and pushed the last book into her bag and picked it up and threw it over her shoulder.

"Come on, Hari-chan," Momoshiro whined. "Tell me."

"It's nothing," Hari said, "I'm just tired."

Momoshiro pouted at her but she ignored it.

...

The tennis practice felt like it lasted forever and went by way to fast at the same time for Hari. She knew the others were watching her and that Momoshiro had told them about her odd behaviour during class today, but she ignored them because she didn't have the extra energy to be upset or concerned about them now. She was nervous enough before seeing Seiichi again and finding out if he really meant what she thought, hoped, he meant with the flowers.

When Tezuka ended the practice Hari didn't linger to talk to anyone but went to change and get ready for meeting Seiichi. She had brought a change of clothes so she didn't have to wear her school uniform something she was very pleased about.

She used longer than normal to get ready going back and forth on what to do with her hair and almost wishing that she had make-up to put on before she shook her head and walked out. She was not going to be one of the girls who spent hours putting on make-up because of a boy.

Hari was pleased and relieved to see that the others had already left when she exited her changing room. She really didn't want to answer questions and see their speculative looks.

She walked out of the gates and was so lost in her own thoughts that she didn't notice the person standing by the gates until he spoke.

"Hari-chan."

Hari jumped and turned to see Minoru standing there with a smile.

"Minoru-chan," Hari said confused. "Um. What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to escort you to Seiichi-nii-chan," Minoru said importantly.

"You are?" Hari asked.

"Yes, he said that if I didn't then it was almost certain that you would get lost and then use too long until you came," Minoru said.

Hari scoffed but smiled slightly.

"Really now," she said and looked at Minoru. "Then I guess you should lead the way, then."

"So, you're coming?" Minoru asked eagerly. "You're really going to go and meet Seiichi-nii-chan?"

Hari knew she was blushing but she tried to ignore it as she nodded.

Minoru beamed making Hari feel a little better and calmer than before. She walked beside the younger boy and listened to him chat away as they made their way to the botanic garden. Hari allowed the chatter from Minoru to keep her calm and distracted. Or as calm and distracted as she could be under the circumstances.

She really couldn't believe that she would get so worked up and nervous because of a boy. It just hadn't occurred to her that she would be. But then again, she hadn't really liked many boys before. So she had not much to go on thinking that.

"This is as far as I will go," Minoru finally said and stopped.

Hari realised that they had arrived and looked around. They were just before a bend in a path and there were trees around them and a lake to the right and she remembered seeing that last time she had been here. But she could not see Seiichi.

"Okay," Hari said. "But where's Sei-chan?"

"He's that way," Minoru said nodding forward. "Just follow the path and you'll see him."

So he trusts her to manage that, did he? She thought dryly.

"Okay," Hari said again. "Well, thank you for showing me the way, Minoru-chan."

"No problem!" Minoru grinned turning to walk back the way they came before he hesitated and turned to look at her again. "I'm really happy you came to talk to Seiichi-nii-chan. He was really nervous about you showing up or not."

With that Minoru turned and ran away leaving a bemused Hari behind.

...

Hari stood still for a minute and let the worries she felt run through her mind. If she walked further she would be faced with Seiichi and she would know. She would know if he liked her or if she had misunderstood and found that he just wanted to congratulate her on her first match. That he only saw her as a friend. That would hurt, but it was to be expected because she really wasn't someone others liked like that.

So…should she turn around and leave? She could… There was still time, but…

Oh, this was getting ridiculous! She was a Gryffindor even if she wasn't at Hogwarts anymore and that meant that she would face whatever was around the bend in the path and she would do it with her head held high. She would not listen to that little voice in her head that told her that she was not worth it and that she was never going to be happy.

Inhaling deeply she forced herself to calm down before she started to walk and soon she rounded the bend in the path and stopped abruptly. She couldn't help but stare as she saw the scene in front of her.

Underneath a tree was a blanket spread out over the grass and a basket was placed in a corner of the blanket and she was sure she saw some glasses there as well but what caught her attention the most was Seiichi. He was standing there watching her with a small smile that told a whole story on its own, relief and something more that she wasn't sure she read correctly but it had her blushing.

She forced her legs to move again and started to walk over to him and felt really self-conscious as she did so. The butterflies in her stomach were fluttering around like crazy and she felt the palm of her hands getting sweaty and she resisted the urge to rub them against her thigs to dry them.

"Hey," he said softly when she reached him.

"Hey," she answered in the same tone.

They stared at each other for a long moment. Hari could not have said how long she was lost in those violet-blue eyes and she didn't really think she had appreciated just how unique that mix of colours of eyes was before.

Finally, he smiled and stepped aside.

"Please, sit down," he said formally and a little stiffly.

"Okay," she smiled and sat down and was pleased when he sat down close beside her. She could feel the warmth coming from him as he sat beside her.

She was not sure what to say or how to break the silence between them and she had the feeling that he was just as nervous as her and that somehow calmed her down.

But he was the one who had asked her to come… so why didn't he say anything? Was he regretting it? Maybe he was wishing that he hadn't sent her the flowers…

She inhaled and pushed the whispers of doubt out of her mind (again) as she tried to find her voice barely aware of her hands fiddling with the hem of her shirt as she did so. She looked over at him and saw that he was still watching her and his eyes had this intensity to them that she hadn't seen before.

"Um," she swallowed, "I…uh…I liked the flowers. Thank you."

Baka, she thought, she couldn't even say it without stuttering like an idiot?

"You did?" he asked quietly and she heard the nervous tone in his voice now. "Did you figure out what they meant?"

She felt her cheeks burn and forced herself to look at him and meet his eyes.

"I…I think so," she whispered. "I found some meanings for them and I checked them several times, so…I think I found the right meaning."

Seiichi smiled slightly and adjusted a little so he was slightly more turned toward her and could more easily look at her.

"And…you still came," he said.

"I…I did," she nodded.

They looked at each other again and Seiichi wondered if Hari was aware that she was chewing on her lower lip as she stared at him and thought that she looked adorable even if she was nervous or maybe it was because she was nervous that she looked so adorable?

"I meant it," he said breaking the silence. "I like you, Hari-chan. I wanted to show you and prove it to you that I'm serious about you and what I feel."

Hari inhaled sharply as she heard the words from him and confirming what she thought he was trying to say. What An had been so sure that he was trying to say.

Her heart beat faster and she was almost worried it would beat itself out of her chest, but she couldn't focus on that as she tried to process the words he had said. He liked her. He liked _her_.

Happiness. She felt an overwhelming sense of happiness burst through her as she thought it. He liked her. He liked her.

Then the doubt came rushing back like a tidal wave and threatened to crush the happiness she felt. Why? Why? The little voice whispered louder and louder in her ear. Why would he like her?

"Why?" The question blurted out before she could stop it and she looked up at him with wide eyes and he frowned slightly.

"Why?" he asked sounding confused.

"Why do you like me?" she asked.

"I thought you said you had figured out what the flowers said," he said making her glance up at him.

"I did," she said, "but…"

He smiled kindly and reached out and tilted her head up.

"I like you because you are special," he said, "you are kind and humble like the bluebell symbolise. I love how much pride you show in your tennis and how determined you are in improving yourself, like the amaryllis. You are the most cheerful person I know just like the chrysanthemum, and it's infectious and I always become in a better mood by spending time with you. The daisy is for the hope I have for us, the hope I have for your liking me as well and the innocence I sense around you even as I know that you have been through something terrible. I chose the lily because you said it was your favourite flower and it also represents your beauty. The morning glory is for the affection I already feel for you and it has grown so fast that it even scares me sometimes. Finally, the violet symbolises the loyalty you have to your family and friends, and the loyalty I feel to you. It's also for the devotion I feel for you and the promise of faithfulness, I will never betray you in any form, Hari-chan."

As he spoke she felt the doubt inside of her being pushed away and the walls she built up being torn away one by one as his words washed over her. She couldn't help but stare at him with wide eyes as happiness, elation filled her again and there was nothing she could do about the smile that stretched on her face.

"Wow," she said quietly when he finished. "I… No one has ever said anything like that to me before."

His hand grabbed hers and squeezed it almost painfully.

"Hari-chan," he said quieter now. "Please. Tell me your answer. I have to know…"

Hari swallowed and knew tears were in her eyes as she looked at him.

"I like you too," she said and was surprised that her voice didn't shake and was quite steady and firm.

His smile was wide and relieved and she blushed as he raised her hand and pressed a kiss to the back of her hand before he moved his hand to the side of her face, cupping it in his hand as he stared into her eyes and she realised suddenly that he was close. Really close.

"May I kiss you?" he whispered.

She felt her eyes widen slightly before she nodded unable to form words. But luckily he didn't need words because he leaned forward and she felt the soft pressure of his warm and slightly chapped lips against hers.

Before she wanted him to, he pulled back and smiled a small and happy smile that she had not seen on his face before. He used the hand that was still resting against her cheek to push her hair away from her face and behind her ear and she felt the path his fingers took tingle pleasantly.

"I'm so happy to hear that," he finally said quietly.

She smiled back and tried to catch her breath again as she felt her lips tingle by the soft kiss. Her first kiss. It had been chaste, but perfect. It was a perfect first kiss and she couldn't keep the smile off her face or the blush away from her cheeks. But she didn't care.

...

"Woah," she said when he pulled out food from the basket and started to spread it on the blanket in front of them. "You really are prepared."

"I guess I am," he smiled and glanced over at her.

She watched him work in silence and couldn't help but the smile that was on her face or the fact that her heart beat a little harder than normal but she didn't mind.

"I got our food from that restaurant we went to," Seiichi said, "you know, with that old married couple."

"Really? Great! I loved their food!" Hari smiled.

"I know you did," Seiichi said.

Hari smiled again and looked at the food. He had really gotten the food from them because he knew she loved it.

"So, you had Minoru-chan come and pick me up from school," Hari said after they had started to eat.

"He wanted to help and I thought it was more likely that you got here without getting lost that way," Seiichi said.

"I don't get lost all the time," she pouted and Seiichi laughed.

"Sure," he said. "Well, he helped to get this ready and he wanted to see you as well, so it worked out fine with him going to pick you up."

Hari looked at him and nodded. She wasn't really upset.

As the meal went on the talk came more easily and Hari relaxed more and forgot to be nervous as he told her a story about his team.

...

Hari laughed and Seiichi couldn't help but notice the way her eyes seemed to shine and how her face lit up. It made him smile as well and he never wanted her to stop looking like that. Happy and smiling because of him.

"It's getting late," he said and glanced at the clock. "The botanic garden closes soon."

"Ah, that's too bad," Hari said and looked around. "I guess we should pack up then."

Seiichi nodded and let go of her hand reluctantly so he could start to gather the things and put them back into the basket.

"Oh, you don't have to do that," he said when Hari helped.

"Nonsense," Hari said. "Of course, I'll help."

Together they packed up and folded the blanket together. She blinked when he just let it stay on the ground though.

"Minoru-chan will get it," he said. "He said he'd take it back."

"He hasn't been hanging around here just waiting, has he?" Hari asked looking around like she was expecting to see the younger boy hidden behind a bush or a tree.

"No," Seiichi laughed. "I'll text him and say it's clear. He has been meeting some friends close by."

"Good," Hari said and blushed as Seiichi offered his arm to her but she smiled as she accepted it linking her arm through his.

They walked in silence for a while and all Hari could think was that Seiichi was right next to her and that his arm was linked with hers.

...

"Thank you for coming today," Seiichi said when they reached her house and they paused outside the gate. Hari smiled shyly up at him and felt herself blush for the millionth time today but she did her best to ignore it.

"I feel like I'm the one who should be thanking you," Hari said. "For doing all this…the flowers, the picnic, the food… everything. It was perfect, Sei-chan."

He smiled and stepped closer to her and reached out so he was now holding both her hands in his and squeezed them lightly.

"You deserve it," he said.

They stared at each other for a moment longer and Hari felt her heart beat faster in her chest and she worried that he would hear it.

"Hari," his voice was quiet and more serious now.

"Yeah?" she said breathlessly.

"Will you be my girlfriend?" he asked.

"Yes," Hari said right away and smiled at him. "I will."

He smiled that special little smile of his that she had dubbed her smile and when he leaned closer she was ready and closed her eyes just as his lips were against hers for the second time and her mind went pleasantly blank as she returned the kiss.

He pulled back and again he reached out and pushed a strand of her hair back from her face and behind her ear letting his finger trace down her face and to her shoulder as he did so before he pulled away completely.

"I'll call you tomorrow," he promised and she could only nod.

She watched him walk away and raised a hand to her lips that were tingling slightly and still felt warm from their kiss. She sighed softly as she smiled.

 **...**

 **...**

 **AN:** **So, what do you think? :)**

 **What do you think about the flowers? I found the meaning of the flowers on the internet. I do not know very much about flowers and their language so I have relied on the information I found on the internet. But from what I can tell, the meaning I found is the correct ones. I found the same on several sites so it should have some truth to it. :)**

 **Thank you for reading and supporting this story XD**

 **Japanese words used:**  
 **Hai - Yes**  
 **Ie - No**  
 **Kawai ne - That's so cute**  
 **Honto - Really**  
 **Nande - Why**  
 **Okaa-chan - Mom**  
 **Ohayo - Good morning**  
 **Mochiron - Of course**  
 **Nanimonai - Nothing**  
 **Baka - Idiot**


	29. Suspicious

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter of Prince of Tennis!**

 **...**

 **...**

Ryoga stood hidden by the shadow of the garage just inside the gates, which he could see over, and stared at the girl who had so quickly become his little sister and the boy. The boy, who was way too close to her, was smiling at her like they were sharing a secret.

Ryoga couldn't see her face but he bet she was smiling back at him. They seemed to be completely lost in their own world and he wondered if he were to move; would they notice him or not? He really hadn't planned on spying on her. He just happened to be on his way out with the trash when he noticed Hari and the boy.

He had stepped into the shadows when he realised that it was Hari because he didn't want to embarrass her…and he was curious. Okay, mostly curious. He would admit that. He knew she was hiding something from them or more likely from Nanjiro. He completely understood why.

He couldn't hear what they were saying unfortunately and he didn't dare to move closer. But he blinked when the boy (whom he suddenly felt a rash need to rip away from his little sister and continue to beat up) leaned forward and kissed her. He _kissed_ Hari.

Ryoga frowned because from where he stood it didn't look like Hari was trying to push him away at all. Ryoga would have been ready to step in if she had but she didn't so Ryoga remained standing where he was despite the instinct to rush in and push the boy away.

Who was this boy? Who was this tall and mysterious boy who dared to kiss Hari and then push her hair away from her face with such gentle hands? Well, at least he was gentle. But that wasn't the point! The point was: WHO WAS HE?

The boy (wow that word started to sound like the enemy the more he said it) smiled once more and turned before he walked away. Hari remained standing where she was watching him and when he reached the corner he turned and waved at her. She waved back.

Ryoga stared at Hari who still hadn't moved from the spot only raised her hand to touch her lips. He stepped out of the shadows and opened the gate making Hari spin around wide-eyed as she stared at him.

He could see the shock and then the panic in her eyes as she clearly wondered just what he had seen. He briefly wondered if he should pretend he hadn't seen anything but then decided against it.

"So, who's the guy?" Ryoga asked with a smirk.

"You were spying on me?" Hari demanded as her shocked slash panicked expression turned into a scowl.

"You can't call it spying when you're kissing random guys on the front steps," Ryoga smirked as she blushed. "Anyone could be walking out of the door at any moment. It's not my fault that you were here kissing someone where anyone could see."

Hari huffed and pushed her way past him mentally scolding herself before she wondered why she cared. She wasn't going to hide Seiichi. Was she?

No, she wasn't.

But…

She grimaced. She could only imagine Nanjiro's reaction to her having a boyfriend. That was not going to be pretty and she really didn't want to deal with it…

...

She walked up the stairs and into her room before closing the door behind her. She put her bag down and sighed when she heard the door open behind her.

"You didn't think that you could avoid answering my questions by going to your room, did you?" Ryoga asked.

"I don't see why I have to answer you, nii-chan," Hari said without looking at him. "It's not any of your business."

Ryoga was silent for a moment.

"I guess that's right;" Ryoga said.

Hari could hardly believe it. Was he giving in so easily?

"I guess I could ask Oyaji," Ryoga mused.

Of course not. She deflated. She should have known.

"Don't," Hari said and turned to look at him.

Ryoga was still smirking as he looked at her and she had no idea what he was thinking. Unlike his father and brother, he was still a mystery to her. She couldn't just look at him and know what he was thinking. It annoyed her.

"Close the door," she said and sighed.

The grin he gave her proved that he just considered this a win and that he had gotten her to do what he wanted. But he did close the door and sat down on the bed looking at her expectantly.

"Well?" he said when she didn't say anything. "Who was he?"

"Yukimura Seiichi," Hari said.

"And where did you meet this Yukimura Seiichi?" Ryoga asked.

Hari sighed as she explained where she had met him and Ryoga snorted.

"Of course you met him while getting lost," he said.

"I wasn't lost the first time I met him," Hari pouted.

"Sure," Ryoga said. "So, you've spent time with him?"

"Hai," Hari admitted turning toward Hedwig who was sleeping in her cage. &o

"And how long have you been dating him?" Ryoga asked.

Hari withheld a sigh and knew she was blushing.

"It was the first date today," Hari said. "He sent me those flowers yesterday and asked me out."

Ryoga looked at the flowers and arched a brow.

"A 14-year-old boy sent you flowers?" Ryoga asked. "That's not something boy's that age normally do."

"He enjoys gardening and flowers," Hari said smiling softly. "It was romantic."

He could learn something from this boy it would seem, Ryoga thought as he watched the soft smile on Hari's face.

"You know you can't hide the fact that you have a boyfriend from Oyaji," Ryoga said.

"I'm not going to hide it," Hari protested, "I just want to get used to the idea and enjoy it before he gets all overdramatic about it all."

Ryoga laughed making her glare at him and toss a book at him but he dodged it still laughing.

"That will be a show," he said. "Matenai."

Hari rolled her eyes at him and sat down on the office chair.

"Glad you're amused," she said.

He looked at her for a moment and his smile softened.

"You know, he only does that because he cares about you," Ryoga said. "That's why he wants to protect you."

"I still can take care of myself," Hari said.

"Sure you can," Ryoga agreed. "And he knows that…deep down, at least."

Hari nodded and smiled a little. She did know that Nanjiro knew that and that he cared about her, he probably cared more than anyone else she'd met.

"I'll tell him," Hari said. "But not right now. I just want to enjoy it a little before I do and wait until Sei-chan is out of Tokyo."

The last part was added dryly and Ryoga nodded amusedly.

"Sounds like a good idea," Ryoga said.

"Arigatou," Hari said.

Ryoga got up and walked over to her and put a hand on her head. She blinked as she looked up at him seeing the soft smile on his face as he looked back at her.

"Are you happy, Hari-chan?" he asked quietly. "He treated you alright? He didn't force a kiss on you or anything?"

Hari blushed but smiled all the same.

"I'm happy," she said shyly. "I really am, Ryoga-nii-chan. He…he's perfect."

Ryoga looked at her for a moment longer with an unreadable look on his face before he smiled and ruffled her hair.

"Good," he said before turning to walk out of the room.

...

Hari was still smiling when she arrived at school the next day pretending that she didn't notice Ryoma and Momoshiro's suspicious glances or their whispered conversations. She was too happy to care about them right now.

She waved goodbye to Ryoma and headed toward her classroom with Momoshiro beside her and she noticed that he didn't chatter on like he normally did but was watching her with a strange look on his face.

"Something wrong, Momo-chan?" she finally asked.

"No, nothing," Momoshiro said.

Hari shrugged and noticed Sora and Hira in front of them so she called out for them and they stopped and turned to look at her.

"Hari-chan!" Sora smiled. "You look happy."

Hari laughed and linked arms with the other girl.

"I guess I am," she said. "So, what's up with you?"

"Nothing much," Sora shrugged, "I was trying to convince Hira to give the Lord of the Rings book a try and not just watch the movies."

"I don't want to read them," Hira groaned. "They're too long."

"So are the movies!" Sora protested. "But you could get so much more out of the story by reading it…"

Hari shook her head as she listened with half an ear to their bickering about reading or not reading the books as she wondered if Seiichi would call her while she was at school or if he would wait until later. He would probably wait, but she really wished he would call soon because she wanted to talk with him…

"Hari-chan? Earth to Hari-chan?"

Hari blinked and saw Sora, Hira and Momoshiro stare at her while Sora waved a hand in front of her face.

"Oh. Gomen," Hari smiled sheepishly. "Did I miss something?"

"Just the classroom," Hira rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, you walked right past it," Momoshiro said. "What's with you lately, Hari-chan? You're really distracted."

Hari shrugged and walked into the classroom.

...

"So, how's our Hari-chan today?" Kikumaru asked as soon as he saw Momoshiro during lunch. "And where is she?"

Momoshiro sat down at the lawn beside Ryoma who looked up and also looked around for Hari.

"She said she would meet us here," Kaido said before he hissed something.

"And how is she today?" Oishi asked worriedly. "Is she distracted today as well? I hope she's alright and that she's not getting sick or something."

Ryoma sighed as he leaned back against the tree again once he realised that Hari wasn't there. He glanced over at Momoshiro.

"She's distracted but she seems happy," Momoshiro said. "She smiles at nothing and I saw her doodle in her notebook with a smile on her face."

The others looked pensive at this and glanced at each other like someone might have an idea and sudden inspiration. Only Tezuka seemed to be unconcerned by the mystery of the happy Hari. Fuji was smiling and looked more puzzled than concerned. It looked like he had an idea of what was going on.

"Fujiko-chan?" Kawamura asked having spotted this as well. "Do you have any ideas?"

Fuji gave his signature smile.

"Saa," he said.

"Come on, Fujiko-chan," Kikumaru whined and attached himself to Fuji's arm. "Tell us…"

"Yeah," Ryoma narrowed his eyes. "Tell us."

Fuji looked over at Ryoma and smiled.

"Well, I would think it is obvious," Fuji said.

Kikumaru let out a loud wail and started to shake Fuji who just smiled that calm and eye-closed smile of his.

"You know! You know! So tell us!" Kikumaru yelled. "What if Hari-chan needs help?"

"She doesn't," Fuji smiled seemingly unbothered by being shaken by Kikumaru.

Kikumaru let go and pouted.

Ryoma narrowed his eyes as he looked at Fuji. He huffed. He knew something was up with Hari. She had been…happy and giggling. That was not his sister. Well, he didn't mind that she was happy. He always wanted her to be happy, but… why? What was it that made her so happy? So happy that she would giggle and blush by just looking at the gates in front of their house? That didn't make any sense.

"Besides, didn't you follow her yesterday?" Fuji asked innocently. He knew that Kikumaru, Oishi (dragged along by Kikumaru), Momoshiro and a reluctant Kaido (Momoshiro had dragged him with them) along with Ryoma had decided to follow Hari the day before to see if she went anywhere after school since she was so distracted. Fuji would have joined them (just to laugh and have something to tease them with) but he couldn't because Yuta was coming home and he had promised to see him.

Tezuka frowned slightly as he listened but didn't say anything.

"We tried," Kikumaru pouted even more. "But she just disappeared and we couldn't find her after practice."

Fuji arched a brow.

"And you saw no one around the school? Like someone had come to pick her up or something?" he asked.

"No," Momoshiro said sadly.

"Well, there was that kid," Kikumaru said. "You know the one with the dark-blueish hair?"

"A kid?" Fuji looked interested.

"Yeah, well, he was just a kid, wasn't he?" Momoshiro asked looking confused.

"Saa," Fuji hummed and smiled again.

Kikumaru looked at Fuji confused but before he could ask they spotted Hari leaving the school building and coming toward them but she wasn't looking up at them but down at her phone and it looked like she was texting or something.

...

Hari was well aware that Momoshiro and Kaido were suspicious about her but she didn't pay them any attention and when the lunch bell rang she pulled out her phone (she had been dying to do so all through her class) and saw that she had received a text from Seiichi. She smiled and felt like giggling but bit down on her tongue to stop herself.

She told Momoshiro and Kaido that she would meet them at the usual spot where they had lunch later before she left the classroom before waiting for their response. She was already reading the text.

 _Hey! So, I know you have school but I just couldn't wait until I texted you. How are you, Hari-chan? Any regrets about yesterday? Seiichi._

She smiled as she hurriedly texted him back.

 _Hey! I'm glad you texted. I'm fine. Happy. And I have no regrets about yesterday. You? Hari._

She stopped by a window overlooking the yard in front of the school and the spot where the regulars and sometimes also the first years from the tennis club would meet for lunch. She saw them now gathering around.

 _I'm happy to hear it. I was thinking that I might have pushed too fast. But glad that's not the case. I have no regrets either. I'm very happy you agreed to be my girl. What are you doing right now?_

Hari stepped a little to the side to allow some girls to get past her as she looked out of the window again.

 _It's lunch. I'm soon on my way to join the rest of the team for lunch, but right now I'm watching Kikumaru-sempai manhandle Shu-chan for some reason. What about you?_

Hari did wonder what had Kikumaru shake Fuji like that, well, she guessed everyone felt the need to shake Fuji from time to time. He had probably teased him or something.

 _Poor Fuji. You should go and eat before the lunch hour is over. You need to eat. We can talk more later. I'm packing my things. I have to go back today. I can't lose more school._

Hari sighed sadly. She didn't want him to go back home today. She wanted to see him again and again. Why did he have to live so far away?

 _Alright. When are you leaving today? Could I see you before you leave?_

She was already walking down the stairs so she could go and meet the others. She was just exiting through the front doors of the school when another text came.

 _I would love to see you once more before I leave. You could come and see me off? We could meet at the park where I met you that first time? Nearby your school?_

Hari couldn't help the smile that spread on her lips reading this or the burst of excitement that hit her. She could see him again!

 _Great! I'll meet you there after school. Around four?_

She put the phone away when she reached her friends and paused when she felt everyone looking at her. She hid a sigh as she realised that she would be facing questions after questions for the rest of lunch. _Super_.

...

The rest of the day was more or like the same as the start and Hari was impatient for it to end so she could leave and go and see Seiichi again. But she did foresee a problem because for the rest of the day she would always find one or two of the boys showing up out of nowhere.

It would be a big and annoying problem and she could feel a twitch start to form just above her eyes. She huffed when she saw Momoshiro and Kikumaru waiting by the school gates and huffed. While she had no plan on hiding Seiichi from anyone it didn't mean that she was going to tell them right away either. At least not right now, because if she told them where she was going they would insist on coming with her. She would waste too much time trying to talk them out of it and she could not, would not, miss seeing Seiichi because of two clingy suspicious boys, so…

Okay, so maybe climbing the wall wasn't the best idea, but – hey! She was not going to answer any more of their questions. Lunch had been bad enough.

She hurried down the streets and actually found the park without getting lost and without meeting anyone from her team. So, that was a win in her book.

"Hari-chan," Seiichi smiled getting up from the bench.

"Hey," she smiled back before she stopped a little unsure on what to do next.

Seiichi just smiled and held out his hand but let it hang in the air in front of her until she reached out to take it. He squeezed it before he reached behind him and picked up a bag she hadn't noticed before now.

"Did you have a good day at school?" Seiichi asked as they started to walk.

"It was fine," Hari said. "But the boys were annoying."

"Ah, nande?"

"I think they might have tried to spy on me yesterday," Hari scoffed.

"Spy?" Seiichi asked arching a brow slightly as he glanced over at her.

"It's just a feeling I have," Hari said. "They asked a lot of questions today and looked at me like they tried to figure me out. So annoying."

Seiichi shook his head a little but didn't say anything else. They walked in silence for a little bit and Hari enjoyed the feeling of his warm hand in hers and wondered if it was normal that her stomach was doing flip-flops just because he was so close and holding her hand.

"Sei-chan," Hari suddenly said breaking the silence between them.

"Hai?" Seiichi glanced over at her.

"Do…do you plan on telling anyone about me?" she asked without looking at him and tried to keep her voice even.

He paused and since he held her hand she stopped as well. She didn't move until she felt him reach out and turn her around making her realise that he had let go of her hand but was instead letting his hands rest on her shoulders.

"I don't plan on keeping you a secret, if that's what you're asking," Seiichi said kindly.

"Oh, um, no, I…wasn't…" Hari stopped feeling flustered.

"And I want to meet your friends as well," Seiichi said lifting one hand to push her hair out of her face as another wild strand of hair had escaped.

"You already know most of them," Hari said but she felt a little better.

"I can only really say that I know Tezuka and Fuji," Seiichi corrected. "The others I have seen but not really interacted with. Besides, I meant that I would like to meet them as your boyfriend."

Hari blinked before she smiled.

"Honto?" she asked.

"Of course, Hari-chan," he smiled back. "That's what being in a relationship means."

"You'd even want to meet my crazy family?" Hari asked.

"Yes," Seiichi nodded.

"Well, I don't know if you ever meeting Otou-chan is a good idea," Hari said. "He's taking overprotectiveness into a new level."

"I can handle it," Seiichi laughed. "For you."

Hari couldn't help the rush of emotion going through her or the need to kiss him so she did. She leaned in and for the first time initiated the kiss and allowed herself to stay close and felt his hands on her waist as he pulled her closer.

The sounds around them faded into nothing as she kissed him and felt him pull her closer and noticed just how warm he was and how strong his arms felt as they held her.

She was smiling when he pulled back and felt the blush in her cheeks. He reached up and let his fingers trace her cheek and down her neck before he pulled back and took her hand in his again.

They started to walk once more and this time neither interrupted the comfortable silence between them. Both just enjoying the other's company.

...

"I'll come back as soon as I can," Seiichi promised.

They were standing outside the train and Hari didn't want him to leave.

"But it still is too long," Hari pouted but smiled soon after.

"Agreed, but there's nothing to do," Seiichi smiled. "And you could come and visit me too, you know."

Hari grimaced.

"I just have to get Okaa-chan and Otou-chan to lift my train probation," Hari said. "Something Otou-chan is so likely to do when he finds out that it's to visit my boyfriend."

Seiichi chuckled.

"I don't see what's so funny," Hari said.

He reached out and pushed her hair back behind her ear making her smile and lean into his touch.

"You really like doing that," she commented.

"I find your hair fascinating," Seiichi admitted. "It never stays in place."

"It's my dad's fault," Hari pouted.

"I like it," Seiichi smiled.

"Well, that's good, then," Hari said a little shyly. "But, I'll try to get Okaa-chan to allow me to use the trains again. She's the one with common sense and the one who stays calm."

"Good," Seiichi smiled and looked back at the train before looking at her again. "I have to go. I'll call you."

"You better," Hari said and smiled as Seiichi leaned forward and kissed her cheek quickly before he stepped back and with a last smile stepped onto the train.

Hari remained standing on the platform until the train was gone and she was standing there on her own. She missed him already.

...

"Kanto tournament is approaching fast and it's different from the prefectural," Ryuzaki told them seriously as they stood gathered in the tennis court. "There will be even more strong players and I would like for us to send out best players as well. That's why we have another interschool school ranking matches."

Hari felt her eyes widen as she realised that she had completely forgotten about the ranking matches that was coming. She had been so absorbed in her own life and Seiichi so she had completely forgotten. But as she listened as Ryuzaki talked and felt a rush of excitement as well as nerves fill her at the thought of the tournament and the idea of being able to play in it.

"Because we have so many talented players this year," Ryuzaki continued. "I have decided to make some changes. Normally there are eight regulars. That's the usual number for most teams, but it's not the set number. I will this time choose 9 regulars instead of 8."

Glances were exchanged and some broke out in whispers at Ryuzaki's announcement.

"Quiet," she ordered and they all fell silent again. "Now, we still have only four blocks. The top two players from each block will be automatically chosen as a regular like normal. But, this time it doesn't end here. The third places from each block will then play each other in order to decide which one will take the 9th spot as a regular. I decided that the third place from block A and B will play each other and the same with C and D, before the winner of block A or B will play the winner of block C and D. Understand?"

It sounded simple enough, Hari thought but she wasn't sure she liked the idea much. But it was the game so she would play.

"Find out what block you're in and go to the assigned court," Ryuzaki ordered.

...

Hari frowned slightly as she read the list and saw her name in Block D and it was the same block as Kikumaru and Kaido. Both who were really good and she was both excited and curious to see if she could beat them.

"How are you feeling?" Yoshida asked coming up beside Hari.

Hari glanced at her and smiled slightly.

"Saa," Hari shrugged. "I don't really know."

"You don't feel confident?" Yoshida asked curiously.

"I'm confident enough," Hari said. "Did you help set up the block's?"

"Yes, Ryuzaki-sensei asked me for my opinion," Yoshida said.

"I see," Hari smiled. "Good job, Yoshida-san."

Hari looked over and saw Arai coming up toward her.

"You're my first opponent, Arai-san?" Hari smiled.

"You bet," he grinned. "I won't go easy on you because you're a girl, Hari-chan."

"I would be angry at you if you did," Hari said with an answering grin.

...

Without really meaning to, Yoshida drifted over to the court where Hari was playing against Arai. She had been walking between the courts writing notes on her notepad on the players and their games but unconsciously she drifted toward Hari.

She found a small group of spectators already gathered around the court watching Hari and Arai. She stopped beside the journalists Inoue and Shiba. The latter was taking photos of Hari.

"She's really become strong," Inoue commented.

"You mean you believe that she can become a regular?" Shiba asked her sempai. "Officially?"

Yoshida glanced over at the journalist who followed their team so closely and showed up at a lot of their practices. She saw the pondering look on his face as he watched Hari return one of Arai's serves and taking the point.

"I think she has a very good chance of becoming a regular," Inoue finally said.

"Even if she's in the same block as Kikumaru and Kaido?" Shiba sounded a little sceptical.

That was tough, and Yoshida recognised that but she really hoped that Hari would make it. It would prove that girls' could play tennis seriously as well and maybe make a point to the rest of the girls' team here because they really needed to get a wake-up call when it came to practising tennis.

Yoshida had a hope that when they saw the result of Hari's hard work they would realise that tennis could be fun and rewarding for them as well.

"It will be tough but not impossible," Inoue said. "Hari-chan works hard and has talent."

"Yes, but…" Shiba frowned.

"We just have to wait and see what she has to show us," Inoue said.

Yoshida inhaled and focused on Hari who was smiling and looked to be having fun. A glance over at Arai showed that he was frowning slightly as he glared over at Hari.

"She's in the lead 5-1," Sakuno said coming up beside Yoshida.

"Already?" Yoshida asked.

"Yes," Sakuno nodded smiling slightly. "She lost the first game and Arai got cocky, but Hari-chan never gives up and, well, she didn't look to upset by it. She won the next one and has won since."

Yoshida blinked but smiled slightly as she realised that Hari was even stronger than she had predicted.

"I'm surprised, Sakuno-chan," Yoshida said and looked over at the younger girl who was staring at Hari with an awed look on her face.

"Eh?"

"I would have thought you would have watched Echizen's match?" Yoshida said curiously because it was a well-known (and unspoken fact) that Sakuno liked the youngest Echizen.

"Oh," Sakuno blushed and shifted on her feet. "I wanted to, but I also wanted to watch Hari-chan. It's exciting to think that she can become a regular for the boys' tennis team, don't you think? I wanted to see how Hari-chan was doing and I just couldn't look away."

Yoshida smiled kindly at the excited girl who was looking completely captivated. Yoshida could understand because she too found it difficult to look away from Hari's match. The way she played was captivating in an unusual way. It truly looked like she was having fun and that she was free when she was on the court.

"I can understand that," Yoshida said softly watching as Hari took the match point and won the first match in the interschool ranking tournament.

...

Hari shook Arai's hand and thanked him for the match before walking over to the bench and grabbed the towel to wipe the sweat off her forehead and smiled when a bottle of water was handed to her by Yoshida.

"Thank you, Yoshida-san," Hari smiled.

"You played well," Yoshida said.

"It was fun," Hari said before taking a deep drink of the water. "Arai is good."

"You won pretty convincingly;" Yoshida said.

"But I had to fight for it," Hari said. "Besides, I'm a bad match-up for Arai."

Yoshida nodded in agreement.

"You're playing Kikumaru-sempai tomorrow," Yoshida commented.

"Yeah," Hari smiled before getting a thoughtful look on her face. "I am."

"Are you worried?" Yoshida asked.

"Not more than I should be," Hari chuckled and got up. "I'm more excited. It will be fun to play Kikumaru. He's an interesting player who is difficult to predict. It'll be fun."

...

 **England**

...

"You mean Hari left her aunt and uncle by herself because she wanted to?" Hermione asked her father.

"That was what her aunt said," Mr Granger said.

"But…why?" Hermione asked. "And where did she go? How could her aunt and uncle just allow her to leave?"

Mr Granger looked at his daughter for a moment wondering just what he should say or how much. It had not been a pleasant meeting with the Dursley's and he really didn't like them. The way they spoke about Hari had all of his warning bells going off and if he didn't need to get answers from them he would have been a lot more…unpleasant toward them that he had been.

He had a feeling that Hari hadn't told her friends just what was going on at home and he didn't really want to be the one to tell them. It was Hari's secret but at the same time, he couldn't hide it from Hermione either.

"I believe there are things that your friend hasn't told you, Hermione," Mr Granger eventually said. "I don't think I should be the one to tell you because it is not my secret or life to tell."

"Dad…" Hermione said a little startled.

"Listen to your dad, Hermione," Mrs Granger said softly.

"But…Hari!" Hermione looked between her parents. "Where is she?!"

"She's in Japan if her aunt is telling the truth," Mr Granger said.

"Japan?!" Hermione gaped. "Why?!"

"Apparently she has a friend there and she left to go to him," Mr Granger said. "They decided to allow her to stay and even arranged it with the Dursley's."

"Arranged?"

Mr Granger looked at Hermione for a moment before he sighed.

"Her aunt told me that they adopted her, Hermione," Mr Granger said.

"Hari has been adopted?" Hermione repeated shocked.

"Looks like it," Mr Granger said.

Hermione was silent for a moment.

"So, you don't think Hari will come back?" Hermione asked quietly.

"Her aunt didn't say anything about her coming back, no," Mr Granger said and his voice was a little tight because he didn't want to repeat just what had been said on the matter.

 _That girl better stay away! We finally got rid of her and I'll be damned if she ever steps into my house again!_

It had been the uncle who had said that and Mr Granger, the usually calm and collected Mr Granger had actually reached out and hit the other man hard enough to make him bleed.

Mr Granger shook the memory away and looked over at his daughter who had bowed her head so that her hair was shadowing her face.

...

"You want to do what?!" Ron stared incredulously at Hermione who was pacing in front of him. They were down by the lake a little bit away from the Burrow, a spot that they often used during the summer. It was a nice spot for bathing and relaxing but right now that was not on either of the two's mind. Hermione had arrived earlier that day and had quickly dragged Ron away with her so she could tell him what she had learned from her father.

"It's not 'want'," Hermione scowled at him. "It's going to! I'm going to go to Japan to look for Hari!"

Ron stared at her.

"You sure she is in Japan?" Ron asked.

"I told you," Hermione said impatiently. "Dad found out that she has been adopted by a Japanese couple and that means that she is in Japan!"

"But where in Japan? Are you just going to go travelling all around Japan and hope that you find her?" Ron asked.

"Of course not," Hermione said rolling her eyes. "Dad said he was pretty sure she would be in Tokyo."

Ron frowned slightly but he felt a spark of hope and excitement go through him as he stared at Hermione. Where they really that close to finding Hari?

"But… how are we going to get to Tokyo?" Ron asked and Hermione looked at him.

"We?" She asked hopefully.

"Of course it's we," Ron said rolling his eyes before he smiled. "I'm not letting you go looking for Hari on your own, you know. I want to find her too."

Hermione smiled.

"I don't really know," Hermione admitted. "We will need to find a plan. Dad and mum would maybe allow me to go, but not just us. They can't come because they have to work. They used their vacation earlier this year on a cruise because of their wedding anniversary."

Ron nodded thoughtfully.

"I don't see mum allowing us to go," Ron frowned. "She's too much of a worrier."

Hermione nodded.

"And…you think she would tell Dumbledore?" Hermione asked looking at Ron who frowned.

"She's not too happy with him for allowing Hari to be suspended and then losing her," Ron said. "But, I do think she would think we should tell him if we know where she is."

Hermione frowned pensively as she thought about it. She was sure that Ron was correct but that did hinder their options a little. Since they were minors they would need parental consent to travel abroad on their own.

"We want to go to!" Twin set of voices said and both Ron and Hermione spun around to see Fred and George coming forward from a tree they had been hiding behind.

"You spied on us?!" Ron demanded angrily.

"Well, you wouldn't have told us if we asked you," Fred said carelessly.

"And you really should be careful about where you talk," George added.

"Especially if you're planning on running away from home to find Hari!" They said together.

Hermione and Ron exchanged annoyed looks but there was nothing they could do about it now.

...

"So, our Hari is in Tokyo," Fred said pensively. "I wonder why she went there by all places. Though, it seems like a good hiding spot. Old Dumbles has no idea where she is after all."

"True, true," George nodded.

"How are we going to explain all of us disappearing?" Ron scowled. "Mum will notice if we all leave."

"That's true," George said again.

"But still…" Fred smiled. "I'm not letting you go and find Hari on your own, Ronikins."

"We want to see her too," George said with the same mischievous smile.

"We still don't know how or if it's even possible," Hermione scowled. "And it costs money to travel. I have some money saved up, but I can't afford to pay for all of us."

The Weasley brother's looked a little uncomfortable at the mention of money and especially Ron scowled darker.

"We'll figure it out," Fred said.

"First we need to figure out what to do and how to do it," Ron said with a sigh. "I still don't know how we're going to trick mum and dad."

"If we explain it to her and tell her that Hari didn't want Dumbledore to know…" Hermione tried.

"You're too honest and naïve, Hermione," Fred said giving her an almost pitying look.

"Mum will not go against Dumbledore," George agreed. "Even unhappy with him she fully believes that he should know where Hari is and she would want Hari to come back and attend Hogwarts again too. She believes that Hari belongs there with us so that they can keep an eye on her."

"I want Hari to come back as well," Hermione admitted, "but not if she truly is happy where she is. If she is then she should do what makes her happy."

The others nodded.

"I think I might have an idea," Fred suddenly said and smiled.

 **...**

 **...**

 **AN:** **What do you think? XD**

 **Do you have any wishes for other pairings in this story? Hari and Seiichi are set. I won't change them. But I'm open to suggestions for pairings for the other characters. I am considering Momoshiro and Tachibana An. But nothing (other than the main pairing) is set. I'm not sure I'll add more pairings but I would like to know what you think :)**

 **Hope you liked the chapter! Thank you all so much for the response this story has gotten! I really appreciate it! :)**

 **Japenese words used:**  
 **Oyaji - Old man/dad**  
 **Nii-chan - brother**  
 **Hai - Yes**  
 **Matenai - I can't wait**  
 **Arigatou - Thank you**  
 **Gomen - Sorry**  
 **Saa - Filler**  
 **Sempai - upperclassman**  
 **Nande - why**  
 **Honto - Really**  
 **Otou-chan - dad**  
 **Okaa-chan - mom**


	30. Ranking tournament part 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Prince of Tennis!**

 **...**

 **...**

Ryoga knew that he really shouldn't be here. He knew that, but he just had to make sure that this guy was good enough for his little sister. It didn't matter to him that he had only known Hari for a few weeks. She was his little sister just as Ryoma was his little brother. That meant that he had to look out for her.

Hari was too used to having boys as friends and Ryoga worried that she didn't really see the difference in having a boyfriend and a friend who happened to be a boy. What if he was only out for… no, Ryoga couldn't even think that word in regards to his sister. He shook his head grimacing.

Stupid mind that ran away with him.

Anyway, he wasn't going to interfere in Hari's relationship. He was just checking this Yukimura Seiichi out and find out what kind of boy he was. But he wasn't going to scare him away or anything like that.

At least he wasn't going to do that if he really was the kind of boy Hari seemed to think he was.

But Ryoga did think that Hari could take care of herself like he had told her yesterday. He was not going to be another overprotective person around her but he did want to reassure his own worries despite his support of Hari.

It sounded like he was going to contradicting himself a little but he didn't really care. If he could be reassured that this boy was good for Hari, that he cared for her as he should, then he would be more at ease supporting Hari when she told their father. Nanjiro was sure to go crazy when he found out.

So that took him to where he was currently standing just outside the wired fences around the tennis courts at Rikkai Dai Middle School. It was a wealthy looking school and the sports arena seemed to carry a lot of status at this school if the well-equipped courts and equipment were to be taken into account.

He looked over the team with critical eyes and noted that they all seemed to be very good and strong players. He noticed a tall boy with dark hair barely visible underneath his cap and a stern look on his face as he hit ball after ball back over the net. He was clearly the strongest of those out on the courts.

Interesting, Ryoga thought. He would be interested in playing him once, but that was not why he was there.

He looked around again and finally found the one he was looking for seated on a bench with a notepad in his lap as he watched the courts. He had not been able to get a clear look at him last time because of the dark, but it was no doubt in Ryoga's mind that this was Yukimura Seiichi. Hari's boyfriend.

He took a moment to observe him. His eyes quickly took in the wavy chin-length navy blue hair, and violet-blue eyes that were scanning the courts, and the fair complexion. He seemed…frail. Surprisingly so, Ryoga frowned slightly because even from the distance he could tell that there was something else to this boy as well. Something that didn't fit with the frail image he presented.

"Oi!" A loud voice yelled and suddenly someone grabbed his arm. "What are you doing here? Are you spying on us?!"

Ryoga looked calmly to his side and the first thing he saw was hair resembling seaweed. He looked down and noticed the glaring green eyes and scowl on his face. His grip on Ryoga's arm wasn't too hard but Ryoga didn't try to break free.

"What's it to you if I am?" Ryoga asked pleasantly.

"I don't like people spying on us," the boy growled and pushed him forward without letting go of the arm. "Let's see what Captain-san has to say to this!"

Ryoga mentally shrugged as he was dragged slash pushed toward the team who had now stopped their practice and was looking at them with curious looks on their faces. Ryoga noticed that Seiichi hadn't gotten to his feet as he stared straight at him with a sharp look on his face.

...

"You're a little old to be spying on us, aren't you?" Yanagi observed more than asked.

"I'm spying," Ryoga grinned cheekily.

"Blunt," Bunta snorted as he blew a bubble with his gum until it popped.

"Kimo i, Piyo!" Nio grimaces as he watched Bunta pick the gum off his face.

Ryoga just watched them with a curious look before he looked over at Seiichi who hadn't said anything. He was silently watching him and Ryoga couldn't help but stare back with a searching look of his own.

"What do you think you're doing looking at our Captain like that?" Sanada snapped and stepped forward to block Ryoga's view of Seiichi.

"Protective, aren't we?" Ryoga smirked tilting his head to the side as he looked at Sanada.

"Who are you?" Seiichi's soft voice interrupted. "Just why are you spying on us?"

Ryoga smirked again as his eyes found Seiichi again.

"I'm not spying on your team," Ryoga said as he pulled an orange out of his pocket and started to toss it lightly with one hand.

"You just said…!" Kirihara growled.

"Oh, I know what I said," Ryoga said pleasantly. "I was just correcting your Captain. I'm not spying on your team."

They looked at him oddly.

"The data would suggest that you would be spying on our team because you are a tennis player," Yanagi said. "But the data would also suggest that you are too old to be in Middle School so you would have no interest in our team."

Ryoga gave him a curious look before he nodded.

"Sono tori," he said. "I don't have any interest in your team, though I do find your talent intriguing and I would love to play the stoic one over there once." He nodded toward Sanada.

Sanada arched a brow but didn't react otherwise.

"But, that was not why I came here," Ryoga said.

"Then why did you come?" Jackal frowned. "And who are you spying on if it's not the team?"

Ryoga grinned and tossed the orange to him making him catch it automatically.

"I'm here to spy on Yukimura Seiichi," Ryoga said watching their reactions with amusement but also curiously.

They blinked and then frowned and he didn't fail to notice how they all seemed to step close to their captain like they wanted to shield him from his view. _Interesting_.

"Who are you?" Sanada glared looking ready to grab Ryoga.

"Echizen Ryoga," Ryoga said.

He watched as Seiichi blinked then frowned but did look at him with more interest.

"Echizen?" Seiichi asked.

"That's right," Ryoga said.

The rest of the team looked confused yet curious.

"Hari-chan is my little sister," Ryoga said and smiled as he saw the widening of eyes and glances that was shot at Seiichi from his team.

...

"Hari-chan is your sister?" Seiichi asked breaking the silence that had fallen over them and ignoring the curious looks from his friends.

"That's what I said," Ryoga confirmed.

Seiichi felt like laughing or hitting himself over the head. How jealous he had been when Minoru had said that an older boy named Ryoga had been with Hari once they met. That they seemed close and looked like they had spent the day together. Then again when Hari so casually mentioned him without an explanation.

"Naruhodo," Seiichi said getting a handle of his thoughts as he looked closer at the older teen in front of him. Seiichi didn't miss the calculating look in those hazel eyes or the confident air around him. "And what brings you here?"

Oh, Seiichi had a very good idea on the reason for the visit and to be honest… he was a little worried about it all. He must know about his relationship with Hari and him being here… well, Seiichi wasn't sure it would be a good thing.

"Oh, I thought I would get to know you," Ryoga said with an easy smile that Seiichi almost believed to be sincere but he caught the shrewd glint underneath it. "You being Hari-chan's _friend_ and all."

Seiichi caught the way he said 'friend' but didn't betray anything as he got up.

"Then, perhaps we should go and talk?" Seiichi suggested. "My team could get back to their practice if we went somewhere else."

"Oi! Don't go!" Bunta whined. "This is just getting interesting!"

Seiichi arched a brow at him and he deflated with a pout and turned away muttering something. Seiichi looked around to see if there were anyone else who would protest and even if they all looked curious they didn't say anything.

Well…almost no one.

"Seiichi," Sanada frowned and glanced at Ryoga. "I don't…"

"Don't worry, Genichiro," Seiichi said as he took a step closer to Ryoga. "I'll leave the practice to you. Thirty minutes more, I think should be enough."

"Fine," Sanada said but frowned unhappily.

...

They ended up in a coffee shop and Ryoga bought them both a hot chocolate since Seiichi didn't like coffee that much. Both of them sat in silence for a while just observing the other.

"I'm not going to threaten you or anything," Ryoga suddenly said.

Seiichi arched a brow.

"That's good, then," he said.

Ryoga smirked as he leaned back in his seat.

"I don't need to," he said. "Oyaji will do that."

Seiichi just stared at Ryoga without saying anything.

"Maa, you're no fun," Ryoga said. "No reactions at all. Don't you care about what Hari-chan's family will think about your relationship?"

"Of course I do," Seiichi said calmly. "But I already told her that I would face it. She's worth it."

Ryoga stared at him with an unreadable look on his face for a moment before a slow smile started to spread on his lips.

"Well said," Ryoga nodded. "I must admit… I am curious about you. Hari-chan told me a little, but she was not very talkative. But, she seems to like you."

Seiichi allowed himself to smile a little.

"I'm lucky," Seiichi said simply.

Ryoga tilted his head as he pulled out another orange and Seiichi briefly wondered how many of those he carried in his pockets and how he concealed them before he pushed it away and focused on the teen in front of him.

"Yet another good answer," Ryoga said as he started to fiddle with the orange. "Are you really just a 14-year-old boy? You seem more mature than most boys your age."

Seiichi shrugged.

"I was just raised this way," he said. "I don't really know any other way to behave."

"Oyaji will have a fit when he finds out that Hari-chan has a boyfriend," Ryoga said changing the subject slightly.

"Hari-chan said so," Seiichi said.

Ryoga nodded.

"Well, you should know that Oyaji is very protective over Hari-chan," Ryoga said. "You could say he has his reasons for being so, but he is quite unreasonable when it comes to her."

Seiichi frowned slightly because he felt there was something Ryoga wasn't saying. He was insinuating something more but Seiichi could tell that he would not say anything more about it.

...

The second day of the interschool ranking tournament was upon them and Hari was sure she had never been so excited and nervous at the same time. She knew that her upcoming match against Kikumaru would not be easy.

Finally, the time came to enter the courts and she saw the others walk toward their own courts and she nodded to Ryoma who glanced over at her. She kind of wished she could watch his match, but knew it was impossible given her own match. Well, she would get Ryoma to tell her about it later. Her mind focused back on her own match and just as she thought it Kikumaru came up next to her and grinned.

She felt a rush of excitement go through her as she answered the grin and wondered if it was normal to feel like this before a match? It was like the nervousness she had felt was washed away and all she felt was excitement and anticipation before her match against Kikumaru. It was similar to how she felt before playing Saeki or even Ryoma, but those matches were for fun. So shouldn't she feel more nervous now?

Anyway, she didn't and she stepped onto the court gripping her purple racket tight in her hand bursting to get started. She could see that Kikumaru felt the same as he practically bounced in place on the other side of the court. It was rather strange seeing him on a court by himself; she felt he was missing something when Oishi wasn't there next to him.

She was lost to the fact that their match seemed to gain a lot of onlookers. Those who didn't have a match yet or those who weren't in the ranking tournament normally gathered around watching some of the matches, but Hari was lost to the fact that they picked hers.

"Are you ready, Hari-chan?" Kikumaru asked cheerfully as he bounced up and down.

"I should be asking you that, Kikumaru-sempai," Hari grinned back.

He laughed loudly making her smile a little wider. His good mood was very catchy.

"I'm looking forward to playing you, sempai," Hari added.

He nodded and his smile softened slightly.

"Me too," Kikumaru said.

Hari got to her position as she waited for the second year who was going to be the referee to take his place. She closed her eyes and allowed her mind to drift as she waited. The excitement burned inside of her but also nerves but they were not a problem. Hari really believed that if she didn't feel the nerves then she shouldn't be playing. They were proof that she cared about the game.

"Alright!" A voice brought her out of her thoughts and she opened her eyes.

...

Hari watched as the ball she had hit over the net went higher than she had planned and Kikumaru jumped up and her eyes focused on his right hand and how he moved it forward, he would be hitting a backhand. And when he was in the air like that it meant that he was preparing to use his own move and his shot would be returned to behind her.

"KIKUMARU BEAM!"

Hari was already running backwards as her eyes were watching the ball not caring to watch where she was going, and when she saw the ball closer she threw herself to the side and stretched her racket out.

Come on…come on… come on… she chanted in her mind just as she crashed to the ground and her racket hit the ball and with an effort managed to hit the ball with just enough force to make it go over the net again. This time it was out of Kikumaru's reach.

 **Game for Hari: 3-3**

She gasped for air as she lied on the ground. She had made it. She had even the score. They both had 3 games now. She pushed herself up and looked over at Kikumaru who was looking at her with a curious yet considering look on his face.

...

Hari used her slice serve and watched as it just went out of Kikumaru's reach. He frowned at her but she didn't pay him any attention as she prepared another ball.

0-15

She tossed the ball up and used twisted her upper-body in time with her racket hitting the ball and watched as the ball sliced to the left with more power. But this time Kikumaru caught it and sent it back but she followed up with her own and was closer to the net again and jumped up in time to hit the ball and once more it was like wings attached themselves to her back and flames surrounded her as she used a forehand volley to steer the ball behind Kikumaru.

0-30

Hari landed gracefully and wiped her forehead as she breathed a little heavier.

...

"Sugoi," Tomoka gasped as she stared at Hari.

"I know," Sakuno nodded. "She's amazing."

Tomoka nodded looking a little dazed.

"Who knew she could do that," Tomoka said.

"Hari-chan is good," Horio said coming up next to them. "I can tell from my own tennis experience!"

"You don't," Kachiro muttered but Horio didn't seem to hear him.

"She's in the lead?" Mizuno asked looking over at Hari and Kikumaru who was now rallying and both seemed to be showing speed and flexibility as they did so.

"Yeah, for the moment," Tomoka nodded. "GO HARI-CHAN!"

Sakuno jumped as Tomoka suddenly yelled.

"GO, GO HARI-CHAN!"

"Tomo-chan," Sakuno said a little surprised.

"Come on, Sakuno!" Tomoka said. "We have to cheer on Hari-chan! She could end up being a regular on a boys' team! HARI-CHAN YOU CAN DO IT!"

...

Hari grimaced as she missed a ball and Kikumaru scored a point.

15-30

She inhaled deeply. She had to keep her focus. She could not afford to become slack or lose focus for even a moment. If she did then he would pull ahead and she would lose.

No, she was not going to think about that. Focus.

She bounced the ball again and tossed it up before she served a regular serve not wanting to use her slice serve too much because it would become too easy to read.

She was already moving when Kikumaru hit the ball back and she saw how the ball moved and correctly guess where it would land. It was like Saeki's voice was in her ear telling her to focus but also trust her own instincts, to trust that she saw enough and use it without overthinking it.

She hit the ball back with a backhand spin and watched as Kikumaru had to use one of his acrobatic moves to be able to return the ball.

"Got it!" Kikumaru yelled.

"Annoying," Hari called back but she smiled even as she reached out and hit the ball back over the net with a low volley.

Hari was vaguely aware of someone cheering as she continued to play and fight against Kikumaru, but it was only background noise that she blocked out.

...

"Oh, they're still playing," Fuji said as he looked over at Hari and Kikumaru.

He was soon joined by Oishi and Ryoma before Kawamura and Momoshiro came.

"How is it going?" Momoshiro asked curiously.

"They're in tiebreak," Sakuno said.

"Honto?" Kawamura asked.

"Interesting," Fuji said without looking away from the court where Hari just returned another of Kikumaru's beams.

"They sure are giving their all," Oishi said.

"Yeah," Kawamura nodded.

They watched as the 2nd year referee called out the scores.

2-1

2-2

2-3

3-3

3-4

Both fought hard as they kept on playing and more and more of the tennis club came to watch as their matches were finished.

Tezuka stood to the side and watched the game with his arms folded over his chest. He would admit that he was a little surprised that the match had gone into a tiebreak. But watching them he could see that they both were kind of similar in a way he hadn't really appreciated before. It raised some interesting ideas to his mind as he watched them rally back and forth both refusing to give the other the point.

They both were fast, and they both had a flexibility that no one else on this team matched, and while Kikumaru might be the stronger of the two in this area Hari's abilities weren't to be easily dismissed either. He had seen traces of it before if he were to think about it.

Tezuka was also surprised that Kikumaru's stamina was holding up because it was a common known fact that his stamina was the weak point. But it seemed like he had been doing some work on it since his and Oishi's loss against St. Rudolph.

The first one to make a mistake would be the one to lose. Tezuka knew that and he could honestly say that he had no idea who that would be because they both seemed to be on equal footing right now.

...

Hari saw Kikumaru jump high up into the air and spin before he hit the ball and she knew he would aim for the corner behind her to the right. She didn't have time to think or even curse herself in her mind for giving him such a ball when he was one point up and this one would give him the match if he got the ball in.

"KIKUMARU-BAZOOKA!"

She could tell that the ball was fast and hard. She didn't think as she threw herself forward in a desperate attempt to reach the ball. She stretched the racket in front of her as she twisted slightly and she barely even noticed the rough way she hit the court and slid forward against the rough surface that was the courts as she tried to reach the ball.

Thump.

It hit beside her racket and out of reach and Hari could do nothing but look after the ball as it rolled farther and farther away.

10-8

 **7-6 – Final score – Kikumaru won**

...

"Aw…" Tomoka said sadly as she looked at Hari who was still lying on the court.

"She did really well, though," Sakuno said.

Fuji heard the two girls but his eyes, for once opened, and were locked on Hari who still hadn't moved as she lied stretched out on the court.

She turned around so she was on her back and they saw the dirt on her light blue t-shirt and white shorts, but she didn't attempt to get up as she stared up at the sky. Fuji could see her chest going up and down rapidly and the sweat on her forehead.

Kikumaru had also fallen to the ground and was breathing hard as well, he looked drenched in sweat but he smiled happily for the win.

"Interesting match," Tezuka commented making Fuji look over at their Captain. He normally didn't comment much about the matches that were happening in this interschool ranking but Fuji wasn't too surprised that he had something to say about this one.

"That's true," Fuji agreed.

"She has taken more steps in her game than I thought," Tezuka admitted.

Fuji nodded but he wasn't as surprised as Tezuka, he had after all been practising with Hari on her new move and knew more about her skills than the rest. Well, probably beside Ryoma.

Fuji walked over to Hari and looked down at her with a smile on his face. She blinked up at him before she smiled tiredly back at him from where she was lying on her back.

"You plan on lying there all day?" Fuji asked.

"It's comfortable," Hari said.

Fuji rolled his eyes before he reached down and almost lifted her back up to her feet much to her annoyance if the glare she shot him was any indication. He just smiled making her shake her head.

"Arigatou," she smiled slightly. "I'm so tired."

"Hari-chan!" Kikumaru exclaimed and waved at her as he came toward her. "You played really well!"

"You too, Kikumaru-sempai," Hari smiled back and accepted the hand held out before she was yanked into a hug.

"Good game, Hari," Ryoma said and Hari smiled a small smile to her little brother.

"Thank you, Ryo-chan," she said. "How did your match go?"

"I won," Ryoma said.

"Good," Hari nodded and gave him a proud smile.

...

Dressed and back outside getting ready to go home with Ryoma and Momoshiro she heard her phone buzz signalling a new message. She pulled it out and opened the message while listening to the two boys talking.

 _Your boyfriend is an okay guy, Hari-chan. He sends his love. Also…he has a funny team. Ryoga._

Hari stopped abruptly almost making Momoshiro collide with her.

"Oy! Watch out, Hari-chan!" Momoshiro exclaimed.

Hari just stared at the text from Ryoga and felt…what? Horror and anger?

"That baka!" She growled.

"Who's an idiot?" Ryoma asked from beside her.

"Your brother!" Hari snapped.

"My brother?" Ryoma arched a brow. "He's your brother too, you know."

"Pfft," Hari scowled. "Whatever…"

Ryoma frowned slightly as he looked at Hari for a moment considering. He hadn't seen her upset or angry with Ryoga before and he wondered why she was now.

"Why are you upset with him?" Ryoma asked.

Hari just scowled and pushed the phone back into her pocket and started to walk faster.

Ryoma and Momoshiro exchanged curious looks but they were both equally lost on what Ryoga could have done to cause her to call him an idiot.

...

Ryoma sat by the kitchen table eating a late dinner because he had missed it because he had been out training. He saw his father lazing around in the living room while his mother was at the office finishing some work or something. Nanako was doing her homework for one of her college courses while Hari was upstairs in her room if Ryoma was to guess.

The door opened and soon Ryoga came into the kitchen whistling as he walked and tossed another orange but caught it when he spotted Ryoma sitting at the table.

"Ah, Ryoma," Ryoga nodded. "You're eating late."

"I forgot," Ryoma shrugged and gave Ryoga a curious look.

"You have a one-track mind," Ryoga smirked. "Didn't Hari-chan tell you to eat?"

Ryoma frowned slightly as he looked at Ryoga.

"She was in a bad mood," Ryoma said.

"Oh?" Ryoga arched a brow.

"You made her in a mad mood," Ryoma eyed Ryoga watching for a reaction.

"Me?" Ryoga asked before he chuckled. "Ah, I see."

"What did you do?" Ryoma asked suspiciously.

"Nothing much," Ryoga shrugged. "Just talked to someone."

Ryoma looked at his older brother with a disbelieving look which Ryoga just laughed and reached out and ruffled his hair.

"Stop it," Ryoma protested and swatted after the offending hand.

Ryoga only laughed as he turned and walked out of the kitchen again. Ryoma frowned because Ryoga hadn't answered what he had done to make Hari upset.

...

"I'm sorry, Sei-chan," Hari apologized over the phone. "I really had no idea he would go so far to actually go and see you."

"It's fine, Hari-chan," Seiichi reassured her. "He wasn't mean or anything. He said he just wanted to get to know me."

"He still should have told me," Hari huffed. "I could have introduced you as normal people would do."

"Maybe," Seiichi laughed, "but I think he found it more fun to cause intrigue and curiosity among my team and probably try to intimidate me."

Hari sighed.

"Probably," Hari said.

"And you can't say that you don't see the fun in that, Hari-chan," Seiichi said. "You could have done something similar yourself, you know."

Hari wanted to protest but she knew he was right. Annoying as it was.

"Maybe," she allowed grudgingly.

"It's fine," he said again and she sighed. "But tell me about your match today?"

Hari grimaced as she leaned back in her office chair and stared up at the ceiling.

"I lost," she said simply. "We got into a tiebreak and I made a mistake on one of the returns I made and he got in a shot I couldn't return."

"Sounds like you were really close, though," Seiichi said.

"But it still wasn't enough," Hari said with a sigh before she smiled slightly. "It was a fun match, though. I was really excited when I played and I didn't focus on anything but the match but…I still couldn't do it."

"I wished I could have seen it, it sounds like an interesting match," Seiichi said before asking; "You still have a chance to become a regular, right?"

"Yeah, I have one win and one loss right not," Hari said. "And yeah, it would have been fun if you could have watched the match."

"Then that's good," Seiichi said.

They talked some more about the matches and Seiichi managed to cheer her up considerably before they hung up.

...

Hari had worked through her loss when she got up the next morning and got ready for another day of the ranking tournament. She chatted lightly with Nanako during breakfast ignoring Nanjiro's suspicious eyes on her while she did.

"Why are you ignoring me, Hari-chan?" Nanjiro whined.

"I'm not, Otou-chan," Hari sighed and glanced over at him. She saw the happy and stupid grin on his face making her smile slightly herself but then he shook his head and frowned.

"You're hiding something from me, Hari-chan," Nanjiro accused. "And I'll find out what! You're acting really suspicious!"

Hari rolled her eyes and got up to put her plate away before she turned toward the older man who was pouting at her. She smiled slightly as she walked over to him.

"I'm not really," she said. "You'll find out soon enough, Otou-chan. Just let me finish with this ranking tournament and then I'll let you know, okay?"

"Hari-chan…"

Hari leaned down and did something she had never done before; she pressed a light kiss to his cheek before she left the kitchen feeling really red in the face.

She didn't see the delirious happy face of Nanjiro or the fond look from Nanako as she hurried upstairs to get her things and tried to calm down. She had no idea why she had done that… but it was normal for daughters to show affection for their fathers, right?

...

"You're red," Ryoma commented bluntly when she met him outside of the house.

"Shut up," Hari muttered.

Ryoma looked at her curiously but shrugged and followed his sister out of the gates.

"Who are you playing today?" Hari asked trying to distract him and herself.

"Oishi-sempai," Ryoma said. "You?"

"Mikami Koji," Hari said.

"He's a third year, right?" Ryoma asked curiously.

"Yes," Hari said. "He is. I haven't really talked much with him, but he's kind and kind of shy."

Ryoma nodded.

"Oi! Echizen's!"

Both Ryoma and Hari turned to see Momoshiro coming up behind them on his bike.

"You're way too fast!" Momoshiro complained.

"You're late, Momo-chan," Hari replied dryly. "Besides, you're on a bike while we walk… shouldn't you have been faster than us?"

Ryoma laughed and shook his head.

"Haha," Momoshiro glared at her but she just smiled back.

They made the rest of the way to school together and with laughter and fun. Hari couldn't stop smiling as she walked beside them.

...

Hari thanked Mikami Koji for the match and smiled slightly when he congratulated her on her win. She could see the disappointment in his eyes but at the same time, he seemed to be genuinely pleased for her.

"Thank you," she said again.

"You played really well, Hari-san," Mikami said shyly.

"So did you," Hari said. "Your serve is really good. I really had trouble with it."

Mikami smiled shyly but looked happy.

"Thank you," he nodded. "But you're just being nice."

"No, I'm not," Hari protested. "I really mean it."

He eyed her for a moment before he smiled again.

"I know I'm not going to become a regular," he admitted quietly and shifted on his feet. "I have tried for three years, but the others are always so strong and I'm not good enough."

Hari looked at him a little surprised that he admitted that to her but she didn't allow it to show.

"That must have been tough," Hari said and he glanced at her before looking away again a faint blush in his cheeks. "But I can tell that you've worked really hard on your tennis."

He nodded and looked pleased.

"I have," he nodded.

"And you have fun with it?" Hari asked.

"Oh, yes!" Mikami nodded and looked more alive than he had since their match.

"Then that's what most important," Hari smiled at him. "I could tell as we played that you had fun and it made me have fun as well."

Mikami nodded and twisted his hands together a little as he glanced at her again and blushed. She smiled kindly once more and thought he was a kind boy if a little shy and awkward.

...

"Congratulations," Inoue smiled. "Another win."

"Thank you, Inoue-san," Hari smiled.

"I find it very interesting to follow your progress, Hari-chan," Inoue said. "Do you play a lot with Nanjiro?"

Hari looked at him for a moment before she answered.

"Not as much as he would like," Hari smiled wryly. "I get so busy and Otou-chan could play tennis with me and/or Ryoma for hours it seems."

Inoue blinked slightly as he caught the way she addressed Nanjiro, he did believe that it was a new development but he just nodded and laughed as he saw the mischievous look in those green eyes.

"I bet you have him wrapped around your fingers," Inoue observed.

Hari shrugged and looked away from Inoue.

"Who knows," she mumbled before she shook herself and smiled at Inoue. "You should challenge him to a game sometimes. He would love for another excuse to play."

Inoue laughed and shook his head.

"Oh, I did that once," he admitted. "And never again. He crushed me."

"He does that with everyone," Hari smiled. "He crushes me and Ryo-chan every time we play."

Inoue nodded.

"I sometimes wonder what the results would be if he played the others from your team," Inoue admitted.

"Like Tezuka-captain, you mean?" Hari asked.

"Or Fuji-san," Inoue nodded.

"Hmm…" Hari looked thoughtful for a moment. "Well, they'll be crushed but I bet they would have fun playing him."

Inoue shot her a curious look before he nodded in agreement.

"Oi! Hari-chan-sempai," Horio came running up to them and both Hari and Inoue looked at him.

"Yes, Horio-kun?" Hari asked.

"That Atobe-guy is at the gates waiting for you," Horio scowled. "And he sent me as an errand boy! I'm not…"

"Ah, I see," Hari said and glanced at the clock. "I'm sorry about that, Horio-kun. Thank you for letting me know."

Horio muttered something as he turned and walked away again. Hari shook her head as she watched him go before she glanced at the clock.

"I forgot the time," she said.

"No, it's my fault for stopping you to talk," Inoue apologised.

"It's fine," she smiled. "But I should go or Keigo will complain and that's not pretty."

She grinned and waved at Inoue who was left standing watching the young girl that was such an enigma among the team that he couldn't help but find her intriguing.

...

"Keigo," Hari smiled when she reached him. "I'm sorry I'm late."

"You are," Keigo huffed but he smiled slightly back. "That boy I sent said something about tennis matches?"

"Horio-kun," Hari corrected pointedly before she nodded. "We're having a ranking tournament deciding on who's going to be the next regulars."

"I see," Keigo said and looked at her. "And you're in it?"

"Yes," Hari nodded. "So, I'm starving. Should we go and find something to eat?"

Keigo nodded.

"I told Kabaji to join us," Keigo said as they started to walk. "He'll meet us at the burger place."

"Alright," Hari shrugged.

"You don't mind, do you?" Keigo asked and Hari glanced at him. She didn't really think Keigo was one to mind if anyone minded anything he did if it was what he wanted.

"Of course not," Hari said. "I'll look forward to getting to know Kabaji better. He's your best friend, right?"

Keigo looked a little surprised but then his face turned pensive.

"I guess he is," Keigo finally said.

Kabaji was waiting for them when they reached the burger place and Hari greeted him politely. He gave a nod in return making her arch a brow at him but didn't say anything as she followed the two into the restaurant.

 **...**

 **...**

 **AN:** **What do you think? XD**

 **I found that writing the tennis match between Hari and Kikumaru was worse than I imagined. I can't say how many times I rewrote it until I just decided to keep it and say it was good enough. So, yeah... hope you enjoyed it :)**

 **I will try to finish the ranking tournament in the next chapter so that it won't drag on for too long. :)**

 **Thank you for reading and supporting my story! ;)**

 **Japanese words used:**  
 **Kimo i - Gross**  
 **Sono tori - That's right**  
 **Naruhodo - I see**  
 **Oyaji - Old man/dad**  
 **Maa - well, filler**  
 **Sugoi - Amazing**  
 **Honto - Really**  
 **Arigatou - Thank you**  
 **Baka - Idiot**  
 **Otou-chan - Dad**


	31. Ranking tournament part 2 - aftermath

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Prince of Tennis!**

 **...**

 **...**

Momoshiro stared at the small pond that was behind the school. It was lunch and he just wanted to avoid his friends. He had done that ever since… ever since he lost. He hadn't gone to any of the practices since the ranking tournament.

He knew he was in trouble for it, but… he just couldn't face it. Face them. Not yet. Not when he…

He swallowed painfully as he once more remembered. Remembered how he had lost against Tezuka first. Though, to be honest that hadn't been too much of a shock. Everyone lost against Tezuka. But he still felt the sting at the clear difference between them, how easy Tezuka had beaten him.

Then he had won his next couple of matches and faced Inui for the last one. For the match that would decide if he was a regular or if he would get the third place that said he would keep playing. He wanted to win. He so dearly wanted to win and prove that he was a regular. He had done well in his matches in the tournament up until now, so he should be able to win. Right?

But… Inui. Inui knew everything he was coming with. He had a response to it all and no matter what Momoshiro did Inui returned it and countered it. He remembered the helplessness he felt, how frustrated it was to have everything just thrown back at him like that and being unable to do anything.

He fought with everything he got, but Inui still beat him.

He sighed as he rubbed his forehead trying to refocus but it wasn't easy. And no matter how much he hated to lose to Inui it was the match against Hari he couldn't shake off. No matter what he did or where he went images of the match against Hari came back and he… what did he feel about that?

 _Hari jumped up and it was like there were wings attached to her back and fire around her as she smashed the ball back just out of his reach. The thud the ball made as it bounced away from him rang across the silent courts._

He had looked forward to playing her when it became clear that it was the two of them that would be facing each other in what Kikumaru called the finale of the ranking tournament. Everyone had gathered around to watch it.

 _Hari returned his smash by throwing herself forward and managing to get her racket underneath the ball and return it over the net again. He was too stunned to move._

 _Hari using a slice serve and he was unable to reach it._

He knew that Hari was good. She had only lost to Kikumaru and Kaido, both had been close and she had even managed a tiebreak against Kikumaru. Not many managed that. So, Momoshiro knew logically that Hari would be a tough opponent. And she had kept up with Kaido for a good while before she had to see herself beat by the viper.

 _He used the jack knife, a fast, sharp and powerful backhand shot and watched as it hit Hari in the ribs making her gasp for breath and fell back. He winced in pain and worry, but she just got back up and rubbed her chest slightly as she smiled at him. Waving away the worried look and question from him and the others._

So…what had gone wrong? Why had he lost? Why had he struggled so with keeping focus in the match?

She just kept coming back and it almost felt like playing Inui again. Anger and frustration made him lose control and he made stupid mistakes. But he still had thought… he thought he had control.

 _Her eyes filled with pain but she jumped up and smashed the ball behind him assuring her win._

Yet, she came back and eventually she took the lead and he suddenly realised that she really did resemble her brother like that. He never gave up either.

But he hoped that she hadn't been hurt, he still winced thinking about the ball that hit her chest. He knew it had been a hard one, but she had barely stayed down before she got back to her feet and continued the game. He had seen pain in her eyes for that last shot, but otherwise… she had not shown any sign of being in pain. So she was probably okay, right?

Worry nagged at him but he pushed it away and told himself that she would say something if she was hurt in any way or the others would have caught it. They saw it too, so… and they probably had caught it and handled it. It wasn't like he had been around at practice to see. So they had probably dealt with it, asked her if she was alright.

Yeah, he nodded to himself. He was sure they had done that. And she hadn't said anything in class. Though… she had kept a distance to him in class. Probably out of respect or worry for him. He wasn't sure if he appreciated that or if he was sorry that she did because she was a good friend. Yet, she was a part of the team and the ones he was so desperately trying to avoid right now.

" _Thank you for the match, Momo-chan," Hari said softly. "It was a good game."_

He grimaced as the last words she had said to him came back and he felt like the biggest jerk on the planet. He had barely managed to remain calm and polite as they said the standard greetings after a match, but he hadn't completely missed the worried look in her eyes as she looked at him despite trying to keep from showing it as she watched him. She had not even shown any happiness of making regulars in front of him.

"Just why does she have to be so nice all the time," Momoshiro muttered as he picked up a stone and threw it making it skip on the water before it sank making ripples in the clear water.

He really was a jerk, Momoshiro thought. He would have to apologize to her later and check if she was alright after being hit by his ball. He still felt bad about that. But right now he needed to get his head back on straight and get over the loss.

But it wasn't easy. His head felt like it was a mess and thoughts and feelings were all over the place and just the idea of going to practice now was enough to make him sick.

Argh. Just what was the matter with him?

...

Hari felt the pain in her chest and knew it was the bruise just above her right breast that was the cause of it. She still hurt because of the ball she had caught from Momoshiro, but she pushed the pain away because it wasn't the time to worry about it.

She was worried about Momoshiro. He had not come to practice since the ranking tournament and it was her fault. She knew, logically, that it wasn't really her fault. She had won a fair and tough match against him and they both had the same chances to win. Logically she knew. But… she couldn't help but feel like it was her fault.

"She's the reason that Momo-chan isn't on the team anymore," a boy said to his friend. Hari heard him but refused to look over at the two as she walked toward the courts for practice. Momoshiro had left the classroom as soon as the teacher had finished.

"Why is a girl on the team anyway?" his friend asked. "She should be on the girls' team. Not take up spots on the boys' team and keep players like Momo-chan off the team."

"I heard the first years in the club worry about Momo-chan during lunch," she could hear the first boy say just as she rounded the corner.

She paused and closed her eyes. It wasn't the first time she had overheard someone saying the same things and it was like they said it in a way that was meant for her to overhear. She wouldn't lie and say it didn't hurt because it reminded her of how it was at Hogwarts, of how they would whisper about her and gossip. It felt like she would never get away from it. At least it proved that it was more than just her that felt it was her fault that Momoshiro was struggling now.

But she wasn't going to lose on purpose either. Not anymore. She was done with keeping back because of her aunt and uncle; she wasn't going to make her results poorer because of fear of outdoing Dudley anymore.

But that didn't mean that she didn't worry about losing her friends or hurting them when she did do better. She really didn't want to be the reason for them hurting.

She shook herself out of her musings and hurried to practice before she would be late and get Tezuka angry at her for being late. She really didn't need to do that.

Luckily they had just arrived when she was ready and started to warm up and again ignored the throbbing pain she felt from the bruised chest. She remembered seeing the bruise for the first time when she changed after the match and the dark reddish almost blue colour it had and it still had that colour. In fact, it had only gotten more pronounced.

But she was sure the bruise would go away soon. She probably just bruised easily, it was not something she was going to call attention to. She was not going to complain just because her chest hurt and she had a bruise. Besides, everyone was so worried about Momoshiro and it was already tense enough among them. It was like they were walking on glass around each other and Hari felt both guilty and sad about it all.

...

"I can't believe that Ryoma isn't worried at all," Horio muttered darkly as he glared after Ryoma who looked relaxed and unbothered by Momoshiro's absence.

"Horio-kun…" Kachiro looked at him worried.

"Look at him!" Horio said pointing at Ryoma and looking almost frantic. "I can't believe him! He and Momo-chan-sempai are supposed to be close! And Ryoma doesn't even care…"

"I don't think you should speak without knowing what you're talking about, Horio-kun," Hari's voice interrupted him softly from behind them.

The three first years spun around and stared at Hari with wide eyes. Horio mentally sweat dropped at once more finding someone from the regulars behind him.

"I…um…I…" Horio stuttered.

"Ryo-chan cares," Hari said looking at the three of them with a serious look in her eyes. "He just knows that Momo-chan wouldn't want to be crowded right now. It's best to give him time to work through his own thoughts before anyone starts to crowd him. It will only hurt worse if he feels he's being pitied."

With that she walked past them and over to Ryoma who looked up when she joined him and gave her a smile. She returned it as she joined him in his stretches.

"I'm sure Hari-chan-sempai is right," Mizuno said after a while. "She knows Momo-chan-sempai really well, too."

"Hai," Kachiro nodded.

"But I still think someone should say something…" Horio muttered. "I miss Momo-chan-sempai…"

"So do we…" Kachiro said and Mizuno nodded.

...

Ryuzaki stared at the old man in front of her. Just why had old Banda come to see her? What did he have planned? She had no idea and it annoyed her.

"So, what brings you here?" she asked.

"Maa, Maa," he smiled. "Don't you think Tezuka-kun is strong enough already? It's such a waste…"

She arched a brow.

"To say such nice words," Ryuzaki said as she gave him a sharp searching look. "Are you planning to weaken Seigaku's strength?"

"Maa," Banda dragged the word out as he scratched his chin. "There is a big gap now that Akutsu has pulled out…Seriously…"

Ryuzaki just stared at him until he leaned forward and stared at her.

"Then, can I have Echizen?" he asked.

"Uso da! You old man!" Ryuzaki snapped.

"You have two," he whined. "I just want one of them."

"One…" Ryuzaki said before she frowned. "Which one?"

"Echizen Hari," Banda smiled. "She's a raw talent and I'd love the chance to work with her."

"Ie!" Ryuzaki yelled. "You can't have either of them!"

"So mean," Banda pouted.

Ryuzaki sighed.

"Well, for the time being…" Banda said and changed the subject and handed Ryuzaki several envelopes and pulling out the content revealed several schools in other countries, one in America, one in Germany and one in England. "Please, give that to Tezuka-kun."

Ryuzaki remained in the office after Banda had left and walked over to the window looking down at the practice. She knew what Banda was hinting at. It was a good opportunity. Tezuka was a strong player and he was ready for a bigger challenge than the middle schools around here offered him.

She sighed.

...

Tezuka watched Oishi and Kikumaru run laps around the court with a stoic expression on his face. Walking onto the court to see the two usually good friends openly fight was just another sign of how messed up the team were at the moment.

He withheld a sigh as he looked over the rest of the club doing their own things. They all looked to be focused, but at the same time, they all looked to be holding back. It was remarkably quiet as they trained and it was no question on why. They all missed Momoshiro.

He knew he should wait and let Momoshiro figure out things on his own, but it was not that easy to do. Not when the team was breaking apart.

"You're thinking," Fuji spoke up.

"Hm," Tezuka glanced at Fuji.

"He'll turn up soon, I expect," Fuji said.

"You think so?" Tezuka couldn't help asking.

Fuji shrugged.

"He loves tennis too much to stay away," Fuji said and turned his eyes over to where Hari and Ryoma were working together. "Besides, I don't think the two Echizen's will allow him much more time to wallow."

Tezuka almost snorted. No, he supposed they wouldn't.

"You seem sure about that," was all he said.

"Saa," Fuji smiled. "Momoshiro is closest to Echizen, and even Hari-chan."

Tezuka frowned slightly as he looked at Hari who had a small frown on her face and for a moment he thought it looked like she was in pain but then it was gone and she smiled slightly to her brother and everything seemed to be back to normal.

...

"You saw Momo-chan at the street court?" Hari asked leaning back on her bed and winced as her chest protested the movement. She used the hand not holding her phone to reach for the pack of ice and placed it on the spot where the bruise was on her chest as she talked to An on the phone.

"Yeah, don't you have tennis practice after school anymore?" An asked curiously.

Hari was silent for a moment.

"You didn't talk to Momo-chan?" she asked.

"No," An said. "I didn't have the time and he looked upset so… I wasn't sure how he would react…"

"I see," Hari sighed. "I guess you could say that our team is a little messed up right now."

"I thought you made regular?" An asked. "I got your text."

"I did," Hari said, "but… Momo-chan was the one who lost his spot."

"Oh," An said.

"And he hasn't been at practice since," Hari sighed. "I want to help him, but seeing that he lost to me… I…I don't want to rub it in."

"I understand," An said. "I'm sorry."

"Yeah, well," Hari sighed and then again winced and removed the ice because it was starting to get uncomfortably cold. "He needs to work it out and then come back. Or I will find him and drag him back myself."

The last part was said in a grumble and Hari could almost hear An's smile over the phone as she answered.

"I bet you would."

Hari huffed.

...

An was walking past the street court again the next day and saw Momoshiro playing against both Izumi and Fukawa alone. From what she could tell he was winning but seemed to be annoyed and upset and didn't even pay attention to the two double players as he walked off the court.

An watched Momoshiro for a moment and remembered what Hari had said. She knew that Hari hadn't told her everything and she wouldn't expect her to do so either because this was a matter between the team. But it was enough for An to understand what was going on and she knew that her friend was beating herself up over this.

"Oi," An said as she threw a tennis ball toward Momoshiro's back and hitting the back of his head. He turned around and paused when he spotted her.

"Ah, Tachibana's little sister," he said.

"Oi! I have a name, you know!" An snapped. "It's An! Tachibana An!"

Momoshiro turned away from her and she frowned as she took in the boy in front of her. He looked…so alone. It reminded her a little on how her brother looked before they moved…

"What are you doing here playing against players like this?" An asked ignoring Izumi and Fukawa's protests. "Shouldn't you be with your team preparing for the Kanto Tournament?"

Momoshiro was silent and An watched him for a moment deliberating on what to do.

"Our team has recovered from their injuries and are working harder than ever," An continued. "They say that they want to pay Yamabuki back…and Seigaku."

Again Momoshiro ignored her but she saw that his shoulders tensed.

"Kamio also says he wants to beat that Atobe-guy from Hyotei," An said. "Says he is too arrogant for his own good."

"What do you want?" Momoshiro finally asked looking over at her.

"Momoshiro-kun, are you okay?" An asked.

"I'm fine," he replied without smiling. "You can leave now."

"It's a public court," An said, "and I don't feel like leaving."

An glared at Momoshiro who looked away from her and nodded to Izumi and Fukawa who said they were leaving and told Momoshiro that they looked forward to the Kanto tournament. She caught the hurt look on his face before he pushed it back.

"Ah, Tachibana's little sister," Momoshiro suddenly said and turned toward her and smiled. An couldn't help but notice that it wasn't his normal smile. "Do you want to play a little?"

"Eh?"

"That was why you came here, wasn't it?" he asked.

"Sure," An said despite it not being so, she had come because she had hoped to find him and maybe get him back to practice. "Nande?"

"I'll be your coach, Tachibana's little sister," Momoshiro said.

"It isn't Tachibana's little sister!" She snapped again. "An! It's An!"

Momoshiro smiled and for a moment his face lit up like it used to but it was soon gone.

...

An was getting more and more frustrated as she played Momoshiro. At first, she had been excited because it was a chance to play a really strong player but now… she was just frustrated and starting to get angry.

She picked up the ball that he had just used a feint and not the dunk smash like he normally would have done. She looked up at him to find him watching her with a dispassionate look.

"You think I'm a fool, don't you?" she accused.

"Haaaa?" he asked.

"You think that just because I'm a girl that you don't have to go all out," An scowled at him.

"It's no use in using my dunk smash if you know it's coming," Momoshiro muttered looking away from her.

"You really do think I'm a fool;" An whispered feeling more hurt than she thought she would.

"Why are you being like this?" Momoshiro asked looking at her confused as she turned and started to walk away.

"No reason," she said. "Momoshiro-kun, you haven't been yourself lately. I'm taking a break."

...

 _Momoshiro-kun, you haven't been yourself lately._

Momoshiro looked over at where An sat on the bench fixing her hair. She looked rather cute… He blinked and shook his head. What was that? There was no way he had just thought… he shook his head again as he remembered what she had said.

"I don't even know what's wrong with me," Momoshiro said frustrated as he looked away from An. Just what was wrong?

He had lost, yeah. And it hurt, but he could deal with that, couldn't he? So why didn't he go to practice?

All he knew was that it hurt to think to go and see the regulars practice. Regulars. He wasn't one of them anymore. He sighed.

...

"Anou," Hari said looking at the brochure in Tezuka's hands.

He looked up startled and Hari almost smiled because she had never seen him with that expression on his face before. He was always so guarded.

"Hari-san," he said and put the brochure away.

"You're thinking about study abroad?" Hari asked curiously as she took a seat next to him on the train platform.

"Ryuzaki-sensei gave the brochure to me," Tezuka said pushing his glasses up his nose.

Hari nodded and looked out over the platform.

"So, are you going?" She asked.

"I haven't decided anything yet," Tezuka said stoically.

"I see," Hari said. "Well, I hope you'll stay. But that's just me being selfish. It's a good opportunity."

Tezuka looked at her and saw the smile she gave him before she looked away again and seemed to be scanning the people around them. He wondered what she was doing there. She wasn't allowed on the train, or so he thought.

"What are you doing here, Hari-san?" he asked.

"I'm waiting for someone," she said glancing at him. "I'm still not allowed on the train if that was what you were wondering."

He allowed a small smile to cross his lips.

"Good job on making the regulars, by the way," he said.

He noticed how her smile fell and a frown settled on her face.

"Thanks," she said. "I just wished that it didn't cause such a mess within the team…"

Tezuka looked at her for a moment.

"You're thinking about Momoshiro," he said.

She nodded.

"He'll come around," Tezuka said in an oddly comforting manner.

"You think so?" Hari asked.

"I'm sure," he said.

"Good, because practice isn't the same without him," Hari said.

Tezuka remind silent for a moment and Hari didn't say anything as she watched the crowd around them.

"You know that it's not a bad thing that you became a regular, Hari-san," Tezuka said making her look at him. "Being cut from the regulars is a part of being on the team. Everyone is important, not just the players on the court but also the support around the team. It's a part of the game and Momoshiro will learn that. He will find his way back."

Hari blinked at him before she smiled a real smile and Tezuka counted that as a win.

"Hari-chan!" a voice called and they both looked up to see a younger boy coming toward them.

"Ah, Minoru-chan," Hari smiled. "You're here."

"The train was late," Minoru said and glanced at Tezuka.

"Ah, Minoru-chan this is the captain of my team, Tezuka," Hari said. "Captain, this is Yukimura Minoru."

Tezuka arched a brow as he looked at the younger boy who was frowning at him. His arms had crossed over his chest like he was trying to intimidate him. Tezuka stared back stoically even though he felt amused.

"Nice to meet you," Tezuka nodded and got up. "That's my train. See you tomorrow, Hari-san."

"Sure," Hari nodded.

Tezuka looked over his shoulder and saw Minoru attached to Hari's arm and already chatting a mile a minute by the look of it. Hari was smiling and nodding along as they started to walk out of the station. Just what was going on, Tezuka wondered as he looked after them. Yukimura… he must be related to Yukimura Seiichi… was it possible? Huh…

...

Momoshiro continued to play against An who was playing well and he noticed the fire in her as she played. It was similar to how Hari played, though Hari was better. But that wasn't the point now. He felt something stir inside of him as he returned ball after ball and watched her play.

He had become cocky. He had become arrogant and started to judge others by just looking at them and not really seeing them. It was no wonder he had lost.

It was because he had become negligent that he had lost his spot among the regulars. He wasn't good enough, but so what? He would grow. He would become good enough and continue to challenge himself and the others. He would go back to challenge those better than himself. Like he used to do.

He suddenly felt better. He was going to fight back! He would get back the regular spot next time and then he would be strong enough! He would not forget this again.

There! A high ball and he took the chance. He jumped up and felt the burning inside of him as he smashed the ball hard and it sped past An and away.

"Don…" he said as he landed and then looked up at An with a sheepish expression on his face. "Sorry. I got serious for a moment."

An smiled and he blinked.

"Somehow, you seem more like yourself now," An said.

"Huh?" Momoshiro blinked. "Really? I don't feel different though."

An just smiled and said, "you're different from before."

Momoshiro turned and walked a few steps before he looked over his shoulder and smiled at An.

"Well, thank you, An," he said. "Ups. No, Tachibana's little sister!"

An had smiled when he finally called her by her name but then she scowled at him.

"What's with you?! It's not something you have to especially correct!" An yelled.

Momoshiro just laughed.

...

"Ah, it's you," a voice said and Momoshiro turned to see a familiar boy sitting on one of the steps of the stands looking at him.

"Atobe," Momoshiro frowned.

"Hari-chan's teammate, huh?" Keigo said looking at Momoshiro with a curious look.

"What do you want?" Momoshiro frowned as he looked at Keigo and then at the boys around him that were all dressed in Hyotei uniform so he guessed they were part of Keigo's team.

"I was just wondering why you have time to waste on a street court like this," Keigo said. "Are you guys ready yet?"

Momoshiro frowned as he stared up at Keigo who looked beside him and at An.

"Ah, Tachibana's little sister," Keigo said with a slight smirk. "We won't lose next time, you know. In the Kanto Tournament, we will be fighting with our true regulars. We won't make the same mistakes twice."

"Don't try to pick a fight!" An snapped before looking away. How could Hari stand this guy? An couldn't understand it.

"Atobe, is that guy really a regular on Hari-chan's team?" Oshitari asked looking at Momoshiro with critical eyes. "He doesn't look that tough."

"It's a given that he's not that tough," Haginosuke Taki said lazily as he looked at Momoshiro. "Since he's fooling around here."

Just then they heard footsteps and they turned to see Ryoma coming up the stairs and walking toward them.

Momoshiro felt stunned seeing Ryoma. Why was he there? Had he come to look for him?

"What's up?" Ryoma asked as he took in the scene and his eyes narrowed slightly as he spotted Keigo who tilted his head slightly like he was curious.

"So, I heard you beat Akutsu," Keigo said. "Echizen."

"Oh, that's the boy who hit you," Mukahi said blinking. "He beat Akutsu?"

"This kid?" Otori said surprised. "And Akutsu is tall…"

"Not bad," Haginosuke hummed.

"Akutsu isn't that tough," Oshitari commented.

Mukahi jumped up on the small wall in front of them and stared before he smirked.

"Well said, Yushi," Mukahi said. "That delinquent just likes to fool around and doesn't even practice that much. He has no strength does he?"

And then he laughed.

"Oi! You said too much!" Momoshiro snapped.

Mukahi stopped laughing but jumped and spun around in the air above Momoshiro before he landed behind him elegant and soft.

He was eyeing Momoshiro with a considering look.

"If you want to play, then come," Mukahi said. "I'll make you both suffer."

"No way!" Both Ryoma and Momoshiro said at once making Mukahi blink.

"Huh?"

"I do want to play you…but this Echizen, he sucks," Momoshiro said. "He has nearly zero sense in how to play doubles."

"As if you can talk!" Ryoma snapped annoyed glaring up at Momoshiro. "You're the same, Momo-sempai! You just run around like a wild boar."

"You!" Momoshiro glared back at Ryoma. "What's up with calling your sempai a boar?!"

"If not a boar how about a wild horse?" Ryoma asked innocently.

"What?""

"What, huh?"

The two of them continued to argue forgetting the others around them who blinked as they watched and felt confused. Wasn't the two of them on the same team? Why were they arguing like that? An tried to interrupt them but neither paid her any attention.

It ended with Momoshiro saying that he would rather team up with An than Ryoma leaving An to stare worriedly at Ryoma. But he didn't seem to care as he turned away from Momoshiro and walked toward Keigo who had been quiet as he watched.

"Well, I would much rather play you, Monkey King," Ryoma said staring at Keigo.

Keigo arched a brow as he stared back at Ryoma.

Otori smiled slightly as he looked at Ryoma. "You've got guts."

Keigo didn't reveal what he was thinking as he stared at Ryoma who just stared back unflinchingly.

"Hari-chan wouldn't like that very much, now would she?" Keigo finally said. "She gets mad at me if I mess with you."

"I'll beat you;" Ryoma said. "Hari will deal with it."

"You don't care what she thinks?" Keigo asked.

Ryoma glanced away for a second before he looked back at Keigo.

"That's none of your business," Ryoma said shortly. "Are you running away?"

Keigo hummed and got up. Ignoring Oshitari who muttered something about Ryoma and gave him an almost respectful look.

"I would love to beat you right now," Keigo said. "But… I don't want to make Hari-chan mad at me again. So, I'll wait until Kanto Tournament. There I will crush you personally."

Ryoma narrowed his eyes as he watched Keigo walk away.

...

Momoshiro looked at An who was packing up and he couldn't help the smile that crossed his face as he looked at her. She was really something.

"Arigatou," he said and she looked up at him confused.

"For what?" she asked.

"For a lot of things," Momoshiro smiled before he put his hands behind his head and looked away. "That doesn't concern you."

An scowled at him before she shook her head.

"Need me to walk you home?" Momoshiro asked almost hoping that she would say yes.

"No need," An said. "There's a shortcut here that I'll take. I'll be fine."

She waved at them.

"Bye, bye," she said. "Good luck at the Kanto Tournament."

"Yeah," Momoshiro said.

"You're finally back to the Momoshiro-kun that I know," An smiled and turned around before Momoshiro could find a reply. Aware that Ryoma was watching him he turned slightly so he wasn't staring after An despite wanting to do just that.

"So, Echizen," Momoshiro said and looked at his friend who adjusted his cap and refused to look back at Momoshiro. "Why did you come here?"

"No particular reason," Ryoma said turning around. "Are you coming or are you staying longer?"

"I'm coming," Momoshiro smiled amusedly.

...

Hari smiled as she watched Momoshiro standing in front of a stern-looking Tezuka. But she didn't miss the relieved look in Tezuka's eyes as he stared at Momoshiro.

"How many times do you think he will get around the court?" Fuji asked her.

"Based on data I would say 50," Inui shot in.

Hari smiled and glanced at the two seniors.

"100," Hari said.

Fuji arched a brow in slight surprise before turning to look behind them as they heard laughter and saw Kikumaru and Oishi high-five and laugh like they used to do. He smiled slightly and glanced at Hari who had a fond smile on her face as she turned back to look at Momoshiro. She seemed to be more at peace now and he hoped that she would now be able to enjoy having been made a regular.

"I won't tolerate anyone breaking the rules," Tezuka said. "You will not touch your racket for a while. And 100 times around the court."

"Hai!" Momoshiro said.

Fuji smiled glancing at Hari. "You called it."

She shrugged turning away from the scene and picked up a ball using her racket.

"Hari-chan," Fuji called and she looked over at him. "Congratulations on making regular."

Hari smiled. "Thank you, Shu-chan."

...

 **The Burrow**

...

"Okay, so why did you drag us out here looking like you have just pulled a prank that has gone horribly wrong and need our help to get your out of trouble?" Bill asked looking at his youngest brothers and their friend. "And I'm kind of surprised that Ron and Hermione have been dragged into it."

"Oi! Why do you assume that it's our fault?" Fred and George asked as one looking indignant.

"It's always your fault," Charlie said with a small smirk.

"Mean," the twins huffed.

Bill felt his lips twitch amused before he got serious again and looked at the four teenagers in front of him. He had just gotten back to the Burrow earlier that day and he had not missed the way his youngest brothers had acted. Only Percy and Ginny had acted like normal, so they were clearly not involved in whatever was going on.

"You haven't answered my question," Bill pointed out.

He focused his gaze on Ron and Hermione. They both looked worried and to be trying to communicate through their eyes only with each other and it was rather fascinating to watch. He had heard about Hermione from Ron's letters, but it was the first time actually meeting her now. He had looked forward to it and also meeting Hari Potter. And no, it was not because she was the Girl-Who-Lived, but because he had heard about her from practically everyone in his family (bar Charlie because he hadn't met her either) and had gotten curious about the girl.

But so far there had been no sign of the girl and he had not heard anyone say a word about her. He wasn't even sure she was going to show up during the summer at all, but he hoped she would.

"Um…If…if we tell you something will you promise not to tell anyone, I mean anyone, about it?" Ron asked.

Bill arched a brow as he stared at Ron.

"Why?" Bill asked. "If you're in danger we can't promise to not tell mum or dad."

"We're not in danger," George said.

"If it's a prank…" Charlie started.

"It's not a prank," Fred said. "We would never do something like this as a prank."

"Never," George nodded.

Bill glanced at Charlie who shrugged and looked pensively back at him. It wasn't often you saw the twins so serious.

"What's going on?" Bill asked.

"Not until you promise not to say anything to anyone," Ron said firmly and the other three nodded.

Bill frowned and watched them for a moment as he pondered his choices. He could say no and they would walk away and probably get in trouble on their own and he would not be there to help them. Or he could promise and then talk them out of it if it was too dangerous or crazy, he would be able to help.

Just what should he do?

"Okay," Bill said. "I promise not to tell anyone what you tell me."

Charlie looked at him surprised before he nodded and looked back at the four teens.

"Me too," he said. "I promise."

"Good," Ron said relieved.

...

"So, you're saying that Hari Potter is missing and that Dumbledore is looking for her but you don't want him to find her?" Bill asked with a raised brow.

"And that you believe that she is in Tokyo, Japan because your dad found Hari's aunt and uncle, who Dumbledore haven't found yet, and they said that Hari had been adopted by a Japanese couple?" Charlie continued.

"And now you want to travel to Tokyo to look for Hari without mum, dad or Dumbledore finding out?" Bill asked.

Charlie wasn't sure what to think. Other than that it was crazy and bewildering.

"Yes," Hermione said and nodded. She had done most of the talking up until now and Charlie could sort of see why because she was very logical and straight to the point. It almost sounded like she was reciting some homework but the emotion in her eyes as she talked was not to be mistaken of. She was really worried about their friend.

"Why?" Bill asked and Charlie glanced at his older brother to see him looking serious and curiously at them.

"Why?" Ron frowned.

"Why not tell Dumbledore?" Bill asked.

"Because Hari wouldn't want that!" Ron said. "If…if she went so far as to actually escape the country then she is serious about not wanting to be found. Especially by Dumbledore."

"I don't understand why she would not want to be found by Dumbledore," Charlie frowned.

"Look," Fred said and leaned forward slightly. "Hari is Hari. We all care about Hari because she is a fun and kind girl who always wants to help others."

"She is awesome at pranks," George added. "And she is smart and loves to fly."

"But to Dumbledore, she is the Girl-Who-Lived," Ron said and looked at his brothers. "She has been through a lot during our three years at school; she has almost been killed several times because of Dumbledore and his schemes."

"You-Know-Who was defeated by Hari in our second year when she saved Ginny," Hermione said softly. "She hasn't really told anyone just what happened down in the Chamber, but it was traumatic but she never received any help after it. Dumbledore just said she was a hero and announced it to the school and her status as the Girl-Who-Lived was stronger than ever."

Charlie was aware that Voldemort had been defeated by Hari in her second year and that she had saved Ginny at the same time. But he had not really thought about how Hari would be after that, he felt a stab of shame go through him. He had just been so relieved that Ginny had been okay and Voldemort gone for good that he hadn't thought about much else. He glanced at Bill and saw that he was probably thinking similarly to him.

"She didn't like that?" Bill asked.

"No, she hates it," Ron said and frowned. "I… I used to be jealous of her. She got all the attention no matter what she was doing or where she was. Everyone wanted to talk to her and be her friend. I used to wish that it had been me, but… I started to see just what it meant. It wasn't always a good thing, because they were also quick to turn on her when she did something that they thought was wrong, they even believed that she was behind the attacks at school our second year. When Hermione was attacked they realised that Hari would never attack her best friend and suddenly she was popular again."

That was…horrible, Charlie thought with a frown.

"Hari just wants to be Hari," Hermione added softly and Ron nodded.

"I realised that she never wanted the attention," Ron said looking at his brothers. "She just wants to be a normal girl. She just wants a family and friends, but I… after she got suspended from school I think she must have gotten time to think about it and realised that she didn't want to go back to a school where she's not treated fairly."

"Why was she suspended?" Charlie asked. "You said something about Fudge…"

"He suspended her because he thought that putting the blame on her would prove that he was powerful and in charge," Hermione scoffed. "He needed someone else to blame for Sirius escaping and Hari was the one he chose because of her name."

"Hari Potter helps mass murderer Sirius Black escape!" Ron snorted. "Like they know anything."

...

"Okay, so I think I understand why she would not want Dumbledore to find her;" Bill said and he did. In fact, if it had been him he would feel the same way. He couldn't understand how anyone could put a title before a young girl who clearly needed help. "But, if she went to all that trouble to hide…why are you still looking and searching for her? Shouldn't you respect her wishes and stay away?"

They were silent for a moment clearly thinking about what he said.

"I know," Hermione said quietly. "But, I need to see that Hari is happy and safe. She's my best friend and right now… I'm sure she thinks that Ron and I are blaming her for this and that we don't want to be her friend anymore. I don't want her to think that."

"I just want to find my best friend again," Ron said. "I want to see that she's safe."

Fred and George nodded.

"She's our sister," they said.

Bill looked at Charlie who shrugged.

"And just how are you suggesting that we get you to Tokyo without mum and dad throwing a fit?" Bill asked. He almost smiled at the hopeful looks he got.

"We thought that maybe you could use work as an excuse…" Fred started to say.

"…you could say you have something to do in Japan with Gringotts and we could come with you for a fun vacation," George finished.

Bill scratched his cheek with a finger and glanced at Charlie again.

"I don't know…" Charlie said. "It might work. It might be a nice way to distract them from their missing friend?"

Bill nodded thoughtfully.

"I suppose," he said.

 **...**

 **...**

 **AN:** **What do you think? XD**

 **I used forever to decide how to write this chapter. I tried to write out the matches and Hari playing Momoshiro and Kaido, but I couldn't get it right. No matter what it just felt repetitive and boring. So, I decided to cover the aftermath of the ranking tournament instead. I felt like showing how Momoshiro reacted to losing his spot on the regulars and how it affected the team. I felt it turned out better than my other attempts so, I hope you liked it too. :)**

 **Thank you for your patience and for reading and supporting my story! :) It means a lot to me.**

 **Japanese words used:**  
 **Sempai - upperclassman**  
 **Hai - yes**  
 **Maa - well/ filler**  
 **Uso da - no way**  
 **Ie - no**  
 **Saa - filler**  
 **Nande - why**  
 **Haaaa - what**  
 **Anou - Err, well, filler**  
 **Arigatou - thank you**


	32. Hurt

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Prince of Tennis!**

 **...**

 **Respond to a guest reviewer:**

 **Hyperfangirl-fan: Thank you so much for such a kind review! I really appreciate it and am so happy that you are enjoying my stories! :) I have actually gotten the request to write a crossover for HP and Eyeshield 21 from others as well. But, I haven't watched that anime yet. I might watch it one day and who knows, maybe I'll be inspired to write a crossover then. But, unfortunately, I can't promise to do it right now. Thank you for asking and believing that I could do it. :) I really do appreciate it. XD Hope you'll continue to enjoy my stories. :)**

 **...**

 **Also, to other guest reviewers! : I'm sorry for not posting any thanks like this before now! I really do appreciate that you're leaving a review for my story! Thank you very much! :)**

 **...**

Hari closed her eyes as she leaned against the wall in her bathroom. She gritted her teeth together as she felt her chest throb painfully, it was like someone was pushing against it with something heavy and spikey. It hurt even worse than when she first got it.

She coughed and immediately winced and her hand flew to her chest in order to try to make the pain ease.

"Itee, itee," she muttered under her breath.

What should she do? She briefly considered asking Nanjiro or Rinko, but she was sure it wasn't really that serious and she really didn't want them to think that she was just complaining about nothing. If the bruise was just a bruise then there was nothing they could do anyway. What was the point in saying anything if they couldn't help?

She pushed away from the wall and walked to the mirror and looked at the bruise in the mirror. It was still that dark colour, blueish and red around the edges. Was it bigger?

She brought a hand up and touched it before rapidly removing her hand and scowled at herself in the mirror. Great. Just great. What great timing to get a bruise that refused to go away. It was now Monday and that meant that it was five days since she had gotten it and it wasn't going away as it should!

She felt irritated with herself and kind of worried because she didn't want to slow anyone down at practice. Momoshiro had just gotten back and the last thing she wanted to do was to create anything else with her bruised chest.

She was sure that it would go over in a couple of days. She'd had worse injuries, after all, the basilisk tooth through her right arm for one. She hadn't complained then and she wasn't going to complain now.

With one last look, she turned and grabbed her shirt and got dressed for the day. She could hear her family move around the house and she allowed the sounds to comfort her.

...

Hari texted with Seiichi all the way to school barely aware that Ryoma and Momoshiro were shooting her curious looks as she smiled and texted with her boyfriend. She wished he would come back to Tokyo soon. She missed him.

"Who is it she is texting with?" Momoshiro asked Ryoma quietly.

"I don't know," Ryoma frowned as he adjusted his cap. "I am really curious."

Momoshiro nodded in agreement as Hari chuckled to herself.

"Something funny?" Momoshiro asked.

Hari blinked and looked over at him and Ryoma clearly having forgotten that they were there, and was that movement she just made a little stiff? Momoshiro frowned slightly.

"Oh," she said. "Gomen. I didn't mean to ignore you."

"No worries," Momoshiro grinned while Ryoma grunted. "But what's so funny?"

"Nothing much," Hari shrugged before biting down at her lip and looked away from them.

There was something off but what? Ryoma also frowned as he looked at his sister. She had been a little strange lately, and not just because she was hiding something or probably a boy someone much to his and Nanjiro's horror, but the way she kept refusing to practice when she was home. She just went to her room and said she had homework to do.

When was the last time he had played her at home? When was the last time she had played Nanjiro? Ryoma realised that he had no idea and that worried him.

They had reached the school now and Hari saw other of her friends also arriving and smiled when Kikumaru waved at her but was held back by Oishi from rushing over to hug her. She was grateful for that because her bruise hurt and she really didn't want to have anything put pressure on it.

"See you at lunch?" Ryoma asked and Hari glanced at him.

"Sure," she said. "See you then, Ryo-chan."

Ryoma looked after her as she turned to the corridor leading to her classroom with Momoshiro. He couldn't help the sudden dread he felt as he watched her go.

...

"Run around the courts for the next ten minutes," Tezuka ordered when he joined them at the courts. Hari was careful to keep her face blank as she took in the order but mentally she groaned because she really didn't think she was up to running around the courts and at the same time keep up with the others. But since she was a regular now she had to keep up.

With a mental groan she joined the others as they started to run. She kept pace with Kawamura who gave her a surprised look but she didn't worry about why as she focused on running and not on the pain in her chest caused by her breathing.

Fuji frowned as he glanced over at Hari who had decided to run by Kawamura. Now, there wasn't anything wrong with that. She and Kawamura were friends, but she normally would keep pace with Ryoma or him. So why wasn't she?

She looked okay, though. Didn't she? He frowned slightly as he thought she looked a little paler than normal and was she sweating harder? But her expression was focused and it didn't look like anything was wrong by looking at her expression.

He looked back in front of himself trying to convince himself that he was just imagining things. He then noticed the looks she got from Momoshiro as well and he was clearly worried about something. Fuji made a mental note that he needed to talk to him later and find out what he was thinking. Until then he would keep an eye on her. Just in case.

Ten minutes had never gone so slow, Hari thought as Ryuzaki finally gave the signal that they had been running for the given amount of time. Hari forced herself to stay on her feet and only allowed herself to lean against the fence for support.

"Here, Hari-chan," Yoshida said and Hari blinked realising that the other girl was holding out a bottle of water.

"Arigatou, Yoshida-san," Hari smiled tightly as she grabbed the bottle. Her grip slipped for a second and the bottle fell to the ground and rolled away from her. She glared at it in annoyance and felt tired and heavy. She pushed away from the fence and was about the bend down to take it when someone already had.

"Are you alright, Hari-chan?" Sakuno asked worriedly.

"I'm fine, Sakuno-chan," Hari said with a small smile and took the bottle from her. "Thank you."

Sakuno nodded and turned to walk over to Tomoka again. Hari sighed took a sip of the water pushing back a grimace as the pain shot through her again. She rubbed a hand tiredly over her face as she tried to calm her breathing and focus on something that wasn't pain.

Seiichi. Seiichi. He was trying to come back to Tokyo soon. His parents were considering allowing him back this or the next weekend. So she would be seeing him again soon. It was something to look forward too.

She managed to relax slightly and the pain resided enough to allow her to focus on Tezuka who had started to talk. Shoot. She had missed the first part of what he was saying…

"…we're practising serves and I want you to split up and work together," he was saying.

Okay, so serves. Right. She could do that.

"Hari-chan," Fuji said stopping in front of her.

"Shu-chan?" she blinked.

He looked at her with his normally smiling face and calm expression but she couldn't shake the feeling that he was looking at her more closely (even though his eyes were closed like normal).

"Let's team up," he said.

"Fine," she allowed and he smiled wider.

She followed him and they found a spot close by Ryoma and Momoshiro who (surprise, surprise) were working together. She glanced around spotting Oishi and Kikumaru laughing and having fun like normal and already working. Kawamura was paired up with Tezuka, while Inui was with Kaido for some reason. Hari had to admit that she found that kind of surprising.

"Ready?" Fuji asked.

Hari nodded knowing that she really wasn't but she had to be.

...

Fuji opened his eyes as he watched her work on her serve. With a quick look, nothing was wrong, she performed one slice serve after another with a precision that was really good, but looking underneath… there was something off about her movements. Or…more precisely when she paused and took a breath. She seemed to be holding herself stiffly and tense, differently than normal in a way that he wasn't sure how to describe.

But what could be causing it?

"Are you alright, Hari-chan?" Fuji asked.

Hari got a guarded look in her eyes before it was gone and a confused and what seemed like a genuine smile crossed her face as she looked at him.

"I'm fine, Shu-chan," she smiled.

He nodded but again he couldn't shake off the feeling that she was lying. But why should she lie about that?

They continued and Fuji was sure he saw a look of relief cross her face when Ryuzaki called out for them to stop.

Unaware to Fuji he wasn't the only one who kept looking over at Hari. Momoshiro was looking at her as well and a nagging feeling was making him think that something was wrong. But from just looking he couldn't say what it was.

...

"Tezuka," Fuji stopped by the Captain when they were going over to the more free part of practice and he was worried.

"Fuji," Tezuka glanced at him. "What's wrong?"

Fuji almost smiled, he knew him so well. Normally people wouldn't see that something was wrong, but Fuji was sure that something was very wrong.

"Have you noticed something about Hari-chan?" Fuji asked.

Tezuka arched a brow and glanced over at Hari who was rallying balls with Nagayama who were smiling and laughing.

"I'm not sure," Tezuka said slowly. "She's not really performing like normal; her running time was slower than it usually is."

Fuji nodded.

"I think something is wrong;" he admitted. "But I'm not sure what."

It was frustrating because Fuji always knew. He knew more than most about everything going on around the team. He watched and observed, but now… he was missing something. Something big and it was concerned with Hari.

"I see," Tezuka said thoughtfully. "Have you asked her?"

"She said she was fine," Fuji said. "But…"

"You think she's lying," Tezuka said.

Fuji shrugged.

...

Hari coughed and leaned forward over the sink of the water fountain. The water from the spring was running and the sound was oddly comforting even as she coughed again and she couldn't keep the pained grimace off her face as the cough shook her body and her chest protested the movement by shooting pain through her body with more intensity. Even her magic was feeling strange, almost like it was stretched thin or something. She didn't want to admit it but it kind of worried her.

"Itee…Itee…" she cried fisting a hand as she leaned on the sink of the water station. She couldn't help the sob escaping her as the pain felt worse than ever.

Coughing again she gasped for air and her knees felt weak and shaky like they would be giving out on her any moment now. She forced herself to keep standing and stared at the water flowing down the sink and shakily reached out with a hand to place it under the water and felt the cold against her skin that felt hot and uncomfortable. She somehow managed to cup her hand and bring up some water to splash on her face.

It felt good. She did it again and felt the water refresh her somewhat. She did it over and over but no matter what the hotness of her skin felt like it was there to stay.

Another coughing fit went through her and she fell forward slightly and only just managed to reach out with the hand she had used to splash water at herself with and grab the sink to stop herself from falling against the water station.

...

"What's wrong with her?" Kachiro whispered to Horio and Mizuno as they stared at Hari who was leaning against the water station and coughing and looking like she was in pain. They could hear the quiet sounds of pain from her.

"Shouldn't we go and help her?" Mizuno asked worriedly but he kept standing where he was. He felt like he was intruding on something he wasn't meant to see.

"We should find Ryoma," Horio said and the other two nodded with a relieved look on their faces. They all turned and ran back toward where the rest of the team was practising.

They found Ryoma and the others gathered around Tezuka who had called them in, Ryuzaki wasn't there at the moment but they didn't really notice that.

"Have anyone seen Hari-chan?" Tezuka asked.

"Not for a little while," Kawamura spoke up. "I think she went to get something to drink."

"Ryoma!"

"Echizen!"

Ryoma and the others turned to see the first year trio coming running toward them with worried and scared looks on their faces.

"What?" Ryoma frowned.

"It's Hari-chan-sempai!" Horio yelled.

"What about Hari?" Ryoma asked quickly.

Fuji and Momoshiro also tensed.

"She's hurt or something," Horio said.

"She's at the water fountain," Kachiro said quickly. "She was coughing and seemed to be in pain… I don't know…"

Ryoma was already running and he wasn't the only one. He could tell the others were right behind him but he didn't really care about that right now. He was just concerned about finding Hari.

They rounded the corner and saw Hari standing leaned over the sink of the water fountain and she was coughing so hard that her whole figure shook. She had clearly not heard them as she remained with her back to them.

Ryoma hurried to her and paled when he saw her pale yet also flushed face, she was wet from sweat or water he couldn't tell, probably both, but her eyes had a glassy look and her face was contorted in pain as she coughed and seemed to gasp for breath at the same time. A hand was to her chest.

"Hari!" Ryoma cried worriedly.

Her green eyes flickered over to him and she stared at him without recognition for a moment before she seemed to recognize him.

"Ryo-chan," she gasped out. "No…no…you…can't…see…"

Ryoma wasn't sure what to do.

"What…" he started and looked around. The others seemed to have frozen behind him.

Fuji stepped forward and put a hand on Hari's shoulder.

"Hari-chan," he said and she pulled away but another coughing hit her and she stopped and leaned into him instead. "Shh… calm down… try to breathe…"

"No…no… can't…hurt…" she managed to say.

"Someone find Ryuzaki!" Fuji said as he helped Hari sit down and got a towel from Tezuka. He started to dry her face the best he could as she coughed and coughed.

"Hari…" Ryoma sat down next to her and took her hand in his. "What's wrong?"

She shook her head and they could see her trying to get control of herself again but it seemed like a fruitless struggle. Ryoma watched her with wide eyes unable to help and he noticed her free hand clutching her chest.

"Are you having chest pain, Hari?" Tezuka's voice was calm and demanded to be listened to.

She shook her head.

"Hari…" Ryoma pleaded. "Tell me what's wrong…"

Fuji frowned as he tried to help the best he could and he rubbed her back hoping it would calm her down. He frowned as he knew he couldn't do anything about loosening her shirt since it was a t-shirt and not one he could open up to help her breathing that way.

Ryoma had no idea how long it took until Ryuzaki came running toward them with Kawamura (who had been the one to go and find her). She looked worried when she saw Hari and shooed the others farther away to give her some space.

...

"Hari-chan?" she asked as she kneeled down next to her. "Can you calm your breathing for me?"

Hari blinked at her and nodded. She closed her eyes and tried to calm her breathing and stop her coughing but it was difficult. Her pain was making her almost black out and she felt a rush of panic because her breathing wouldn't calm down and she could feel another coughing fit coming but she had to stop.

"Hari." Ryoma's voice called her.

Ryoma.

Ryoma. He was worried. He was there and he saw…. They all saw. Another wave of panic came over her.

"Call an ambulance," Ryuzaki ordered someone but Hari wasn't sure who.

No, she didn't want an ambulance… she was fine… She just had to…

Ryoma.

"Hari, please…" Ryoma sounded so scared.

She coughed again and her breathing wouldn't stop rushing out of her, her chest hurt and it felt like it was on fire.

"My…chest…" she gasped.

"But you said…"

"Bruise…" she gasped.

"Bruise?" That was Fuji.

She nodded weakly. Why did she feel so tired? She blinked and tried to focus. Her vision was a little bleary but she blinked again and then she saw Ryoma and Fuji right there and Ryuzaki as well. She gasped and felt new air hit her lungs and she managed to exhale as well.

"That's it," Ryuzaki murmured. "Steady breaths, in and out… just focus on that, Hari-chan. In and out."

She tried.

Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out.

"No ambulance," she managed to say.

"It's been called," Ryuzaki said and she frowned.

"I'm fine," she said.

"Fine?" Ryuzaki arched a brow. "I don't think so."

"Hari…" Ryoma said before Hari could say anything else and she glanced over at her little brother who looked so worried and she felt a stab of guilt go through her. It was her fault. She had made him that worried just because she had to get a coughing fit and couldn't stop.

She still struggled a little too keep her breath even as she looked at him but it was a little easier. She still felt warm and sweaty, her shirt felt clammy and gross and she kind of wished that Fuji would stop touching it because it must be grossing him out.

"What bruise were you talking about?" Fuji asked and she realised that she could see his eyes. His blue eyes.

"You have pretty eyes…you shouldn't keep them closed all the time," Hari mumbled as she closed her eyes and leaned against Ryoma. "I'm tired."

"Don't go to sleep," Fuji said and reached out to touch her chin. "Open your eyes, Hari-chan."

Hari blinked and did as he said.

"What bruise?" he asked again.

She frowned.

"Nanimonai," she said tiredly. "Just a bruise. Nothing to worry about."

Momoshiro stepped forward then and he frowned.

"Could it…could it be from the ball I hit you with in our match?" he asked.

Hari blinked at him and frowned.

"It's not that big of a deal," she mumbled.

Fuji's eyes widened. He remembered now. She had been hit in the chest with a ball and it had been so hard that she had been knocked off her feet, but she had gotten up so fast and hadn't shown any sign of being in pain… he had forgotten.

"Shit," he muttered and he saw Ryoma also having come to the same conclusion as him.

Just then the sirens from the ambulance sounded and they looked up to see the ambulance coming toward them and stopping a little bit away since it couldn't get any closer. Oishi (who had gone to the school gate to meet the ambulance) came running toward them with a couple of EMTs.

A man and a woman came toward them had without a pause sat down next to Hari and pushed Fuji and Ryoma away without much effort as they started to work asking questions as they did so.

...

Ryoma felt like the worst brother in the world. How could he not have seen that she was so hurt that she had to have help from paramedics? She looked so pale and small where she was being worked on by a couple of paramedics. She protested their movements but she started to cough again and leaned forward in pain.

"The breathing is shallow and laboured," the man said after listening to her lungs.

"We need to get to the hospital," the woman said.

The man looked at them.

"Can anyone tell us what happened?" he asked.

"We don't really know," Tezuka spoke up. "It appears she got hit in the chest by a tennis ball five days ago and has a bruise on her chest because of it. She hasn't said anything about it and we had no idea she might have been hurt until now."

The man frowned and nodded.

"Alright," he said and together with his partner started to move Hari over onto a stretcher.

"I'm fine," she said despite struggling again to breathe.

"Can I go with her?" Ryoma asked stepping forward.

The man looked at him.

"Anatahadare?"

"I'm her brother," Ryoma said. "Echizen Ryoma."

The man frowned and looked at his partner who shrugged.

"Sure, but don't get in the way, kid," he said.

Ryoma nodded and followed.

"I'll call Nanjiro and meet you at the hospital," Ryuzaki said.

Ryoma nodded.

...

Nanjiro was reading in his magazine and giggling at the naughty Mari. He was laying on the floor and the television was on the background but he didn't pay attention to it as he flipped the pages and another girl appeared. He giggled again.

He could hear Nanako in the kitchen and Rinko had just arrived home and was somewhere around the house. The only ones missing were the kids. But they should be home soon and maybe he could get Hari to play with him again. It had been a while since she had done that.

He heard the phone ring and with a sigh, he put the magazine down and stretched out and reached the phone before he fell down to the floor again with a "humph".

"Hello?" He answered the phone.

"Nanjiro," Ryuzaki's voice sounded.

"Ah, old hag, what…" Nanjiro started.

"Stop, Nanjiro, listen," Ryuzaki said and her voice was serious and Nanjiro sat up almost unconsciously.

"What is it?" Nanjiro asked.

"It's Hari-chan," Ryuzaki said and Nanjiro felt his heart skip a beat in fear. "She is on her way to the hospital. There's something wrong with her chest, but we're not sure what yet. She suddenly had problems breathing and was coughing a lot after practice today."

Nanjiro got up to his feet and opened and closed his mouth without making a sound as he tried to make his brain work and actually talk.

"What? Is she okay?!" The words came tumbling out of his mouth.

"She had calmed her breathing when the ambulance got here," Ryuzaki said. "But they took her with them to the hospital. Ryoma went with them and I'm on my way there now."

Ambulance. His little girl had been picked up by an ambulance.

"We're on our way," Nanjiro said before hanging up. "Rinko!"

He rushed to the hallway and saw Rinko coming out of her office looking at him worriedly.

"Nanjiro?" she asked.

"Come on! We have to go!" Nanjiro yelled.

"Go? Where? What's going on?!" Rinko asked confused and worried because Nanjiro looked really scared. Nanako also came out of the kitchen and stared at them.

"Hari-chan is at the hospital," Nanjiro said. "Something's wrong with her."

Rinko paled and if Nanjiro had been calmer he would have cursed himself for not telling her in a better way but right now all he could think about was Hari and hospital.

...

Ryoma paced the waiting area he had been shown to by a nice nurse and he kept glancing toward the doors she had gone back through and he wanted to go back there and find Hari, to see that she was okay.

How could he not have noticed that she was this hurt? How had she even hidden it?

Questions like this swirled in his mind as he paced the room but he became no wiser to the answers. He looked up when Ryuzaki and the rest of the team came rushing in and he almost sighed. She really wouldn't like to be creating such a fuss, but then again…maybe she needed to see just how worried they all were for her.

"How is she?" Kikumaru asked and for once he wasn't bouncing.

"The doctors haven't been out yet," Ryoma said.

Kikumaru's face fell as he looked down at the floor and Oishi reached out to squeeze his shoulder and led him to a chair.

"Ryoma, sit down," Ryuzaki said comfortingly.

"Ie," he said and kept pacing and glancing at the door.

Fuji sat down and stared at the door Ryoma kept glancing at. He guessed the doctor would come out through there so he stared at the door himself. He tried to keep calm but it was much harder than he thought it would be. He couldn't get the image of Hari struggling to breathe between coughing fits and the way she clutched her chest out of his mind.

The waiting room was luckily mostly empty beside them so they didn't bother anyone else.

Ryoma looked up when the rushed footsteps came closer and soon Nanjiro, Rinko and Nanako came rushing into the waiting room.

"Ryoma!" Rinko rushed over to her son and hugged him. For once he didn't mind being hugged by his mother, even if it was in front of all his friends because he needed the comfort.

"How is she?" Nanjiro asked as he joined them and a serious look was on his face. Ryoma thought he looked really unfamiliar with that look; it was hard to connect it with his father.

"The doctors haven't been out yet," Ryoma repeated.

"What's taking them so long?" Nanjiro complained.

"Gaki," Ryuzaki said and he turned to her. "Sit down and wait. They are doing what they can for her."

"Old hag," Nanjiro scowled.

"Dear," Rinko sighed putting a hand on his arm. "Do try to behave."

Somehow she managed to calm her husband down and get him to sit down.

...

"How's Hari-chan?" Nanjiro asked the doctor who had come to get him and Rinko. They were in a small office and beside the doctor, there was a computer with some files opened and the desk was stacked with papers.

"She's very lucky," the doctor, Ito Yuu, said. "She has a bruise on her chest, just above her right breast. It is serious but it could have been worse. She said she got it five days ago and she has kept playing tennis and doing what she normally does despite the injury."

Nanjiro frowned and fisted his hands against his thighs.

"And?" he pressed.

"The bruise is what we would call sportsmen's chest pain," Doctor Ito continued. "It's usually seen in more contact sports like football, hockey, wrestling… but if she got hit by a tennis ball in full speed, then I guess it could explain the injury."

"And if she got it five days ago then why is she only now showing it?" Rinko asked. "Why is she suddenly having problems breathing?"

"She pushed herself too hard," Doctor Ito said. "Normally it's not dangerous if you rest and not strain yourself. But since she continued to play she stressed her chest muscles and the strain it put on her chest caused her to get breathing problems and a cough. Though, I am a little surprised that she lasted this long before the strain showed."

Why had she done that? Rinko frowned worriedly and she couldn't get that nagging feeling that said that this had to do with her time with the Dursley's to leave her alone.

"Why the cough, though?" Nanjiro asked.

"It's normal to develop a cough because of the chest pains," Doctor Ito said. "She took shorter breaths in order to relieve the pain and because of that, the cough developed. If it continued like this it would have been a good chance for her to have contracted pneumonia. "

"But she hasn't, right?"

"No, she hasn't," the doctor said.

"So, what now?" Rinko asked.

"She needs rest," Doctor Ito said. "No exercises for at least a week, maybe longer but we'll see how the bruise is healing when she allows her body to relax."

"Can we take her home?" Nanjiro asked.

"I would like to keep her overnight for observation," Doctor Ito said. "Just to monitor her breathing and make sure that we haven't missed anything. Also, I want to give her some breathing exercises in the morning as well."

"Alright," Rinko said placing a hand on Nanjiro's arm. "Can we see her?"

"Of course," Doctor Ito said.

...

"Okaa-san!" Ryoma said as soon as his mother came back into the waiting room. "How's Hari?"

The others looked at her as well and Rinko smiled softly to Hari's friends who had stayed waiting for news. She was really grateful that Hari had found such great friends since she came to live with them.

"Hari's going to be fine," Rinko said. "The doctor said she got what is known as sportsmen's chest pain. She pushed herself too hard and it aggravated the injury."

"But she'll be okay again?" Momoshiro asked quietly.

"Yes," Rinko smiled at him. "She'll just need some rest and she'll be fine. She'll need to stay overnight here at the hospital, though, but she'll be out tomorrow."

"Good," Fuji said.

"That's very good," Ryuzaki said.

"We want to see her, but I think that it might be too much right now," Fuji said getting up and the others glanced at him. "She's probably tired and needs to rest, so…"

Rinko nodded. "I'm sure she would really appreciate seeing you all and knowing that you all waited here for her. If you want I'll check and see if she's ready to see you or you could come by the house tomorrow and you could see her then."

Tezuka got up as well and the others automatically looked to him to make a decision.

"We'll see her tomorrow," he said politely. "She needs her rest."

"Alright," Rinko smiled.

"Tell her we're thinking about her," Kikumaru said.

"I will," Rinko smiled. "Thank you."

Soon Ryoma was the only one left with Rinko and Ryuzaki. Ryuzaki was frowning slightly as she looked at Rinko.

"Where's Nanjiro?" Ryuzaki asked.

"He's with Hari-chan," Rinko said tiredly. "He really got scared when you called."

"I know," Ryuzaki said. "I could hear it in his voice."

Rinko sighed and rubbed her eyes. "I never thought…"

"I am sorry, Rinko-san," Ryuzaki said. "I should have seen that she was hurt."

"We all should have," Rinko said. "She should have said something, we should have noticed… but we didn't and she didn't… there's nothing we can do to change that."

...

Ryoma followed his mother into the room that he was told were Hari's and paused by the door when he saw her laying on the bed. She looked like she was asleep as her eyes were closed and while she still looked a little pale she didn't look to be in pain any more. An IV was connected to her arm and a bag of something clear fluid was hung up next to the bed.

Rinko was already by the bed and reached out to stroke a strand of her hair out of her face with a gentle touch. Nanjiro sat close by the bed and had one of her hands in his and was staring at her face like he was scared she would disappear.

"Ryoma," Rinko said. "Aren't you coming in?"

Ryoma swallowed as he forced his legs to move and walk over to the bed. He looked down at his sister and felt a rush of anger go through him. Why? Why hadn't she told him that she was hurt? Why would she keep that from them? From him? He thought they told each other everything. Didn't she trust him?

Then anger at himself filled him in even greater aspect. Why hadn't he seen it? Why hadn't he noticed that she was hurt? So hurt that she had ended up being brought to the hospital in an ambulance? How could he have let this happened? What kind of brother was he?

"She's going to be fine," Nanjiro spoke up and glanced at him. "She'll need you when she wakes up."

"She didn't tell me," Ryoma whispered. "She doesn't need me."

"She does," Rinko said looking at him before she pulled him into a hug. "Ryoma, she does need you. You're her brother and best friend."

Ryoma just nodded and glanced over at Hari again and wondered how she could look so small and vulnerable when she was the strongest person he knew. He swallowed as he sat down at the edge of the bed and looked at her.

"Where's Ryoga-nii?" Ryoma asked.

"He's on his way," Nanjiro said just as the door flew open and Ryoga came rushing into the room and stared wide-eyed at the bed and Hari lying there.

"Is she alright?" He demanded breathlessly.

"She'll be fine," Rinko assured him.

...

Ryoga had been with a friend playing tennis at a club, winning money from some older guy who thought he was all that when he got the call from Rinko. He had stopped the game, didn't care that he lost some money, and rushed out of the club leaving his friend in a confused and slightly annoyed daze.

Hari was hurt and at the hospital.

He had seen her recently and she hadn't said anything about being hurt, so had it happened at practice? What had happened? Rinko hadn't really gone into details on the phone. Right now he wished he knew more because the worry and concern were making him go crazy.

In the cab on his way to the hospital, he remembered Seiichi. He had probably not been told because he was the only one who knew about them and Hari probably hadn't had time to call him. If it was serious then he should know… right?

He frowned trying to figure out what Hari would want. She hadn't told Nanjiro about him yet, and she probably didn't want to introduce him to them like this… but, he should know. Ryoga knew that if it was his girlfriend in the hospital he would want to know.

Still arguing with himself he pulled the phone out and found Seiichi's number, glad he had asked for it and received it when he went to see him and pressed the call button.

" _Hello?"_ Seiichi's voice sounded.

"Hey, Yukimura-san," Ryoga swallowed. "It's Echizen Ryoga and I think there's something you should know…"

...

Hari felt confused and sore as the surroundings started to come back to her and she realised that she was in a bed. But it wasn't her own bed, so where was she? She tried to remember but the memory was foggy, she could hear talking around her. Familiar voices talking quietly, tensely and worriedly. Why were they worried?

She blinked and the room came into focus. A white room, too white, and a window to her right that showed the sun still up but starting to go down. Then she noticed the people. Her people gathered around the bed.

"Hari-chan!" Nanjiro was the first to speak. "How are you feeling?"

She opened her mouth to answer before she closed it again realising that she wasn't sure. She frowned and tried to catalogue herself.

"Thirsty," she croaked out and it was true. Her throat felt dry. "I'm fine."

"Fine," Ryoma scoffed. "That was what you said when you were coughing so hard that you couldn't breathe."

Hari blinked and tried to remember and suddenly the memory came rushing back and she remembered going to get something to drink and getting away from the others because she felt her breathing getting out of hand and she thought she just needed to have some water and relax by herself. Then Ryoma had been there, Fuji, Tezuka…everyone.

She closed her eyes. They knew.

"Oh," she said quietly. "I…I didn't…"

"You're going to be fine," Rinko said and Hari looked over at her. Rinko reached out and cupped her face with one hand and smiled reassuringly at her. "The doctors said it's a sportsmen's chest pain, the bruise you have. Because you have been breathing in shallow breaths in order to regulate the pain and have pushed yourself with practice it turned into a cough and the breathing problems."

Hari frowned.

"It's just a bruise," she said. "I didn't think…"

"We'll talk later," Rinko said letting go of her chin. "Right now you need rest and no stress."

Hari frowned but nodded.

"I'm sorry," she said weakly.

Nanjiro squeezed her hand and she realised that he was holding one and Ryoma were holding the other one. Ryoga was sitting at the end of her bed and looked at her with a concerned look but smiled slightly when he saw her looking. Nanako was standing behind Ryoga and smiled relieved at her.

"We're just glad that you're okay," Nanako smiled.

Hari nodded.

...

It was late when Hari finally was alone in her room. The others had just left her and she was a little surprised that they managed to get Nanjiro to go home. It was not easy but she had assured him that it was fine and he really needed the rest. He looked exhausted and she knew he was tired.

She didn't mind being alone for the night. It wasn't like she hadn't been alone before, but somehow… had she wished for someone to stay with her? She frowned. It wasn't possible, anyway. Hospital policy and all that. They had already let them stay way past visiting hours and it was not worth fighting them just because she was…what? Lonely? Scared?

Was she scared? No. Of course not. But she couldn't deny the small worry she felt deep in her stomach at the thought of being alone in the hospital. She kind of wished that Nanjiro or Rinko had stayed with her… they would be a comfort. She wished she could have gone home. She would be so much better at home and not at the hospital.

She scoffed at herself. She was being stupid. It wasn't like she was in any immediate danger. She was fine. She was sure of it.

And since when did she need someone to be with her? She never had before and she had been fine then. She would be fine now. She didn't need anyone to hold her hand just because she felt…oh, she didn't even know what she felt.

But…she couldn't deny (at least to herself) that she had been scared back at the school when she couldn't catch her breath and the coughing wouldn't stop. It had been scary. But why did she feel scared like that? She had been in worse trouble and handled it way better. She hadn't felt scared in that way down in the chamber or in that room with Quirrell… Not like that, anyway.

And the look on Ryoma's face… she felt guilt rise up inside of her just remembering it. He had looked so scared and worried like he really thought she was going to… No. She wasn't going to think about it.

Shame and embarrassment went through her as she thought about her friends. They had seen her like that. They knew. She didn't want them to know. They would think she was a burden and then those who said that she didn't belong on the team would be proven right. She hadn't even managed to get through a week before she had caused trouble.

 _Get the snitch or die trying._ That was what Wood had told her before the Quidditch match back in her second year. It was the same principle. Do your best or die trying. Push yourself for the team. That was her duty. That was what she had tried to do, but instead, she just caused them worry and trouble. They must hate her now. Think that she was weak.

She suddenly sat up and gasped slightly in pain. She had forgotten! How could she have forgotten! Seiichi! He didn't know… should she call him? She glanced at the clock. It was pretty late… would he be upset if she called him now? Should she? What was the point in worrying him when she was fine?

Would he worry?

The small doubt rose inside of her and she frowned. Why would he worry? Why did anyone worry? She was just…Hari. Nothing special, really.

Honestly. She wasn't even sure why Seiichi even wanted to be her boyfriend. Maybe he would realise what a burden she was if she called him? Would he think she wasn't worth it?

She couldn't lose him. She really liked him and…

The door opened and she glanced over at it automatically and felt her eyes widen when she saw who was standing in the doorway. It wasn't a nurse or a doctor like she had thought…

"Sei-chan!" She gasped.

He looked at her for a long moment and it felt like time stood still and she couldn't decipher the look in his eyes. Suddenly it was like time moved again and he moved toward her and over to the bed.

"Hari-chan," he whispered. "You're…okay?"

"I'm fine," she said automatically still staring at him.

He frowned and reached out with both hands and rubbed his thumbs over her cheeks wiping away tears she hadn't even realised had run down her cheeks. He sat down at the edge of the bed beside her and cupped her face between his hands.

"How did you know?" Hari whispered.

He didn't answer for a moment before he sighed and let go of her face and his hands fell into his lap.

"Your brother called me," Seiichi said. "Echizen-san thought I should know."

Ryoga had called him? She swallowed.

"Oh," she whispered. "He didn't tell me."

Seiichi looked at her.

"Why didn't you say anything?" he asked.

Hari looked down.

"I…I thought it would go away," she said. "I didn't want to complain just because it hurt a little. It's not a big deal…"

"Hari-chan," Seiichi frowned. "If you're hurt then you should say something. It's not complaining."

Hari frowned. She had always been told to stop complaining when she was hurt as a kid and complained to her aunt when she had to do chores and her arm hurt because Dudley had grabbed it really hard, or she had a bruise because she had been pushed or fallen.

Seiichi saw the confusion in Hari's face and felt worried. Did she really now understand why she should have said something? That he, her friends, her family would have wanted to know so they could have helped her?

She looked so confused and exhausted that Seiichi felt himself soften and reached out to push a loose strand of hair out of her face and let his hand linger against her chin. She blinked at him and he smiled slightly.

"We can talk later," he said. "You need rest."

"I want to talk to you," Hari said but her eyes started to drop.

Seiichi smiled as he leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her temple.

"I'll stay," he said.

"But visiting hours…" Hari frowned.

"I got connections," Seiichi said mysteriously.

Hari smiled and closed her eyes before she opened them when she felt someone laying down next to her making her move slightly to the side. She blinked at Seiichi who smiled back at her but there was a question in his deep violet-blue eyes as he looked at her, and she could tell he was nervous.

"Is this okay?" he asked quietly.

He was so close and warm. She knew she probably should tell him to move, but she didn't want to. She smiled and nodded.

"Yeah."

She snuggled closer to him and allowed her eyes to drop as she felt his arm around her waist hugging her close. She felt safe.

 **...**

 **...**

 **AN:** **What do you think? XD**

 **I don't know anything about medical stuff so anything medical in this is only taken from some light research. So, I'm not trying to pretend that I know what I'm talking about with the medical aspects of this chapter. But I have tried to make it believable. Hope it is. :) I hadn't really planned on taking the injury this far, but as I wrote I ended up with this so I decided to go with it. It is a consequence of her hiding her injury and ignoring her own needs. It will be a wakeup call for her and those around her. :)**

 **The next chapter will, hopefully, be up in a day or two. I have most of it written out and just need to edit it a little more and maybe make a couple of changes before I put it up :) So, here's to hoping that everything goes as planned and you get another chapter soon! :)**

 **Thank you so much for reading and supporting the story. I love getting reviews from you or just knowing that people are reading my story and hopefully enjoying it! XD**

 **Japanese words used:**  
 **Itee - Ouch**  
 **Gomen - Sorry**  
 **Arigatou - Thank you**  
 **Nanimonai - Nothing**  
 **Anatahadare - Who are you?**  
 **Ie - No**  
 **Gaki - Brat**  
 **Okaa-san - Mum**


	33. Guilt

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter of Prince of Tennis!**

 **...**

 **Parseltongue**

 **...**

 **...**

Hari yawned as she opened her eyes feeling a moment of confusion as she realised that she wasn't in her own bed at home and that someone was right there next to her. She turned her head and saw Seiichi sleeping beside her. His arm was protectively thrown over her waist. She blushed.

She looked at him unable to stop herself and thought he looked so adorable sleeping, he looked so peaceful. She was not sure how long she stared at him before his eyes started to flicker open and she looked away suddenly embarrassed.

"Ohayo," his voice made her look back at him.

"Ohayo," she said. "You stayed."

"I told you I would," he said smiled.

She smiled back at him and nodded. "I know, but I thought you would go when I fell asleep."

He sat up and yawned as he rubbed his eyes making her smile because he looked adorable. He gave her a confused look but she just smiled some more and hoped that she wasn't blushing (even though she probably were) before she tried to sit up but stopped and grimaced.

Right.

The reason why she was in here in the first place, that stupid bruise. She had forgotten.

"Are you okay?" he asked worriedly when he caught the grimace and he was already reaching out to help her. He helped steady her and looked at her with a searching look. He was so close.

"It hurts when I move," she tried to smile. "I forgot."

Seiichi frowned worriedly as he looked at her and smiled slightly as he met her eyes. He got up and out of bed making Hari shift until she found a more comfortable position. He helped to get the back of the bed elevated so she was sitting up while still being supported.

He sat down again at the edge of the bed and took one of her hands in his and entwined their fingers together. She glanced at the entwined fingers before looking up to meet his violet-blue eyes. She felt a stab of guilt go through her when she saw the worry in his eyes.

"Should I find a nurse or something?" Seiichi asked.

"No, not yet," Hari said. "I just want to sit here with you."

He smiled.

"But if you're in pain," he said as his smile turned into a frown.

"It's manageable," Hari said. "But…what would the nurses think seeing you here? Um…did they come in during the night?"

Seiichi smiled, "I told you I had connections. I spent a lot of time in here, you know. They won't say anything."

Hari blinked but nodded. "Alright."

"I need to step out to make a call," Seiichi said. "I should call my parents, but I'll be back soon."

Hari nodded and watched as he walked out of the room.

...

"Ah, you're awake," a nurse said as she walked through the door and spotted her awake. "How did you sleep?"

"Alright," Hari said and fought the blush away at the idea of the nurse having seen Seiichi there during the night…but the nurse didn't say anything.

"Good," the nurse prattled on. "You didn't call us so we took that as a good sign."

Hari nodded as the nurse started to check whatever it was nurses checked and Hari just stayed as she was as the nurse worked.

"Can I get out of bed?" Hari asked as the nurse finished.

"Need the toilet?" the nurse asked.

Hari blushed slightly and the nurse just smiled kindly.

"And I feel like washing my face," Hari said. "I feel…kind of gross, I guess."

The nurse nodded.

"I can help you if you want," the nurse offered.

"No, I'm fine," Hari denied.

"Well, the doctor said that it was good for you to move around a little," the nurse said. "Just don't overdo it and if you need help be sure to call for help. There's no shame in needing help, Echizen-san."

Hari nodded.

"I just want to try on my own first," she said.

"I can understand that," the nurse said. "The doctor will be by to see you sometime this morning. Your parents should be back again by then as well."

Hari nodded and thanked her.

...

Hari managed to get to the bathroom and wash up and get ready, it was a little slow but she made it. When she returned to her room she found Seiichi seated on the bed waiting for her. He got up and rushed over to her as she came walking toward him. He put an arm around her and helped her back to the bed.

"I'm fine, you know," Hari muttered but allowed him to help her.

"Well, I wanted to help," Seiichi said.

"How long will you stay?" Hari asked looking at him. "What did your parents say?"

He grimaced slightly.

"I have to go back today," he said. "They are worried about all the school I'm missing. I explained yesterday that someone I cared about was at the hospital and that I needed to see them… They said it was fine, but I need to get back today."

"I understand," Hari nodded and pushed back the guilty feelings for being the reason he was missing school. "Thank you for coming to see me, though. I…I really…"

She swallowed and he squeezed her hand.

"It means a lot," she managed.

"Mochiron," he smiled. "I wouldn't be anywhere else."

He leaned in and kissed her softly before he pulled back and let his forehead rest against hers for a moment.

"I was so scared," he whispered. "Yesterday when your brother called… I really thought…"

He couldn't finish his sentence.

"I'm sorry, Sei-chan," Hari said. "I really am."

He pulled back and met her eyes with his and nodded.

"I know," he smiled slightly. "I know. But, Hari-chan… you never should feel like you need to hide from me just because you think I'll worry. I'd rather worry than you being in pain and hiding it."

Hari nodded.

"I'm sorry," she said again. "Next time we meet I'll tell you more about it… I think I should explain a little…"

He smiled slightly as took her hand and pressed a kiss to the back of it.

"Okay, but mostly I'm just relieved that you're alright," he said.

...

When Nanjiro came rushing into the room like he was being chased Hari was alone and resting. Seiichi had already left to catch a train back home and hopefully catch the last part of the school day. She was torn between relieved that she didn't have to introduce Seiichi to her family right now (though she would do it really soon) and wishing he could stay a little while longer not ready to say goodbye.

"Hari-chan!" Nanjiro exclaimed and Hari opened her eyes and smiled when she saw him.

"Hey, Otou-chan," she smiled.

"Dear, I told you not to rush in like that!" Rinko said sternly behind him. "You woke her up."

Hari looked behind him and saw Rinko along with Ryoga and Ryoma. Both boys looked worriedly at her but looked relieved when they saw her awake and slightly bemused.

"It's fine," Hari smiled slightly as Nanjiro pulled her into a hug (surprisingly careful) and held her for a long moment.

"Did you manage to sleep?" Rinko asked when her husband let go of Hari and she hugged the younger girl herself.

"Yeah," Hari said fighting the blush that threatened to rise up her cheeks thinking on Seiichi sleeping right next to her.

"That's good," Rinko said. "The nurse said she was happy with your progress and the doctor should be here soon."

Hari nodded and looked over at Ryoma.

"Ryo-chan," she said quietly. "Are you mad at me?"

Ryoma had not said much to her since she had been brought in, and she worried that he was mad at her. She bit down at her lower lip to stop it from trembling.

"No," he sighed and moved over to the bed. He sat down at the edge as Seiichi had done before. "But… why didn't you say something, Hari? I would have listened to you."

Hari looked down.

"I'm sorry," she said. She had a feeling she would be saying that a lot over the next period of time. "I…really thought it was nothing. I am really sorry."

Ryoma looked at her and scowled.

"It's those stupid relatives of yours, isn't it?" he asked.

Hari shrugged.

"At least you're okay," Ryoga said stepping up and smiled slightly and she saw the knowing look in his eyes as he looked at her. "You do seem better than last night. I bet you had a nice and peaceful night. Free from Oyaji's fretting and pacing."

Hari rolled her eyes at him while Ryoma looked confused.

...

Fuji stared at the cactus in front of him without really seeing it. He was worried about Hari. He hoped that she was okay and that she really would be coming home today like her mum had said yesterday. He couldn't help the worry, though. He had a feeling that there was something much deeper behind the reason for why she hadn't told anyone that she was hurt.

He also felt anger. Anger at her for not telling anyone, but mostly anger at himself for not realizing that she was hurt. She must have shown signs in the days after the injury, but they had all been so distracted by the fact that Momoshiro wasn't there and worried about him. They had all missed it by being preoccupied and blind.

"Is something wrong, Shusuke?" Yumiko asked.

He looked up at his older sister who was standing in the doorway to his room. She looked to be dressed for work.

"Just worried about a friend of mine," Fuji said. "She was sent to the hospital yesterday."

"Oh, is she okay?" Yumiko asked.

"She'll be fine," Fuji said, "but I still worry."

Yumiko nodded.

"She must mean a lot to you if you worry like this," Yumiko observed. "Is she your girlfriend?"

"No, she's just a friend," Fuji said. "A good friend."

Yumiko nodded but still looked a little suspicious.

Fuji got up and started to get ready for school. It was going to be a long day…

...

Momoshiro barely ate anything for breakfast and knew his mother was looking at him worriedly, but he couldn't care about that right now. He just couldn't bring himself to eat. How could he? When it was his fault?

"Are you sick?" his mum asked.

"No," Momoshiro said. "I'm just not hungry."

He got up and left the kitchen before she could say anything else and made his way to his room. He finished getting ready for school despite not really feeling like going. He didn't want to see the others, see how worried they were about Hari when…when it was him that was the cause of it.

With a sigh, he left the house and grabbed his bike. Out of habit he biked past the Echizen's house and looked up at it, it looked empty. Dark. They probably had already left for the hospital to see Hari. He doubted Ryoma would come to school today.

Again guilt flashed through him as he remembered the scared look on Ryoma's face. His best friend's face. Ryoma was his best friend, even if he wasn't his. He knew Hari was Ryoma's best friend, but he liked to think that he was pretty close to being his best friend. So, how could he have been so careless to shot that ball?

He should have done something when she fell because she was hit by his ball. How could he think that she was fine after that? Of course, she wouldn't be fine! He was such an idiot. Kaido was right… he really was stupid.

When he reached the school he did his best to avoid his friends from the team as he sat down in the classroom. He glanced over at the desk that belonged to Hari and wished that she would come in and take her seat smiling at him as she did so. He even wished she would prank him. Anything as long as she was here.

The rest of the class came in and he saw several of them looking over at him and he knew that word had spread about what had happened on practice yesterday.

"Is it true?" Sora asked coming up to him with her brother right behind her.

"What?" Momoshiro asked even though he had an idea.

"Is Hari-chan really at the hospital?" Hira asked with a frown. "People are saying that she collapsed at practice yesterday and that she was sent to the hospital in an ambulance."

Momoshiro fought to keep the flinch back as the words were spoken out loud making it so much more real.

"Yes, it's true," Momoshiro managed to say before he looked away.

Sora and Hira both looked worried and Momoshiro tried to not look at them but even as he looked away he saw them in the corner of his eyes. They were Hari's friends too. He realised that despite the fact that she was spending most of her time with them during school she still had other friends as well.

"Is she okay?" Sora asked.

"She's going to be fine," Momoshiro said looking back at them. "Her mum said she would be coming home from the hospital today."

"Okay, that's good," Hira nodded and with that, he grabbed his sister and pulled her back to their desks as the teacher entered the classroom.

Momoshiro noticed that Kaido had entered as well and looked even more sulky than normal. For once he didn't feel like riling him up or anything and he just felt a fresh sense of guilt as he took in the sulky air around him.

He was brought out of his thoughts by the teacher's voice telling them about Hari and that she was fine and would be back to school in a day or two if everything continued to go well.

It was going to be a long day, Momoshiro thought as he picked up the whispered conversations of his classmates and saw the looks they cast him and Kaido.

...

"I want to see Hari-chan," Kikumaru whined as he leaned over his desk staring at the clock that said it was still a couple of hours until the class were over and they would be free to go and see her.

"I know," Fuji said.

"Do you know how she is?" Kikumaru asked.

"I texted Echizen and he said she was alright and they had taken her home," Fuji said.

"Well, that's good," Kikumaru mumbled. "But…why didn't she say anything, Fujiko?"

Fuji sighed.

"Shirimasen," he said.

"I was so worried last night I could barely sleep," Kikumaru said. "It's a little strange how important she has become… it's just a few months since she started school and it feels like she's always been here."

"Yeah," Fuji nodded in agreement.

"Oishi was also worried today," Kikumaru said. "He looked like he hadn't slept at all. He always worries…"

Fuji almost snorted. Oishi did indeed always worry and he knew that Hari was in for some good Oishi-mother-henning when she came back.

The rest of the day went slowly and Kikumaru pouted all through class, but the teacher seemed to have heard about Hari and didn't call him or Fuji out on their inattentiveness during class.

As soon as the bell rang they were out of the door and rushed to the gates where they had agreed to meet the others before heading toward the Echizen's house. Ryuzaki had cancelled practice today knowing they wouldn't be able to focus and understanding the need to see their friend.

Fuji stood beside Tezuka who had a serious look on his face and he knew he was thinking about Hari and her injury. Fuji also knew that Tezuka was worried but that he also wanted to know why she hadn't said anything. He wasn't the only one there. He saw Kikumaru stand impatiently beside a worried Oishi and Kawamura. Inui was for one not making notes in his notebook as he stood silently beside Kaido who was glaring at the ground.

Fuji looked to see the first year trio coming up to them with a worried Sakuno and Yoshida. Sakuno looked like she hadn't slept at all.

"Where's Momo-chan?" Fuji asked realising that he was the only one missing.

"He left," Kaido spoke up. "He has barely said a word all day. I told him we were meeting here, but…"

Fuji frowned but nodded. Tezuka sighed.

"Come on!" Kikumaru said impatiently. "If Momo-chan isn't coming, then let's go!"

"Calm down, Eiji," Oishi said.

"No," Kikumaru whined. "I want to see Hari-chan!"

"We all want that," Oishi said trying to calm his friend.

Kaido hissed something and looked impatient as well.

...

"Hey," Ryoma greeted them when they rang the doorbell. "Come in."

"How is she, Ochibi?" Kikumaru asked almost looking ready to cry.

"Tired," Ryoma said. "But she says she's fine."

She says she's fine. Fuji realised that it would take some time before anyone would trust her when she said that.

They followed Ryoma into the living room to find Hari seated on a sofa with Ryoga next to her. The television was on but the sound was low and it didn't seem like they were paying attention to it.

"Hey," Hari said nervously when she spotted them.

"Hari-chan!" Kikumaru rushed over to her but remembered that she was hurt so he didn't hug her like he wanted to. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she smiled at him. "I'm just a little tired."

"You said you were fine yesterday too," Kikumaru pouted.

Hari looked down feeling guilty.

"Hontoni gomen'nasai," she said formally.

They were all silent as they observed her as she was propped up on the sofa by pillows and blankets. She noticed their looks and huffed.

"Otou-chan went a little overboard," she explained.

"A little," Ryoga grinned. "You'd be wrapped up in bubble wrap if he had his way."

The others chuckled and the tension in the room seemed to disappear.

"Sit down," Hari said. "Do you want anything to drink?"

Ryoga got up to find something and Fuji took the chance to take his spot of the sofa. He looked at Hari with a worried look.

"I'm really fine," she told him. "I just need to rest and not practice for a few days and the doctor said I should be fine."

"That's good," Fuji said.

Tezuka nodded in agreement as Hari looked over at him.

"I'm sorry for causing trouble, Captain-san," she bowed her head to him.

He looked stern like normal but his eyes had a softer look in them as he looked at her.

"Being a part of the team also means to tell someone that you're injured," Tezuka said. "It's a responsibility as well."

Hari looked down and nodded. Her hands fisted in her lap.

"I…I'll remember that," she said quietly before she frowned slightly and looked around the room again. "Um…where's Momo-chan?"

She noticed the nervous looks and felt dread deep in her gut. He was mad at her. She knew it. He was…

"I think he's struggling with something and has a hard time seeing you," Fuji spoke up and Hari blinked and looked at him.

"He's mad at me," she whispered.

"No, I don't think he is," Tezuka said.

"Of course he isn't mad!" Kikumaru exclaimed. "Why should he be?"

"Because I didn't tell you and made you worry," Hari said. "It's my fault that you worried like that. I didn't mean to do it. I tried to make sure you didn't worry… I tried to not be a burden."

Fuji frowned and looked at Ryoma who was scowling at the floor and his hands were fisted in his lap. A picture that wasn't very pretty was starting to build in his mind, honestly, it had for a while, but now it was getting clearer.

"You're not a burden, Hari-chan," Kawamura said softly and Hari looked over at him. He smiled kindly at her. "We don't think you're a burden."

Hari looked down unable to find words.

"And Momoshiro is just feeling…guilty," Kaido said. **"** **The gentle trick assumes the walk."**

Hari barely noticed the parseltongue as she frowned.

"Why is he feeling guilty?" She asked.

"He was the one who hit the ball that hurt you," Inui said.

"But…that was an accident," Hari frowned. "It wasn't his fault."

The others nodded but no one said anything else and allowed Hari to think for a moment.

...

"Why didn't you say anything?" Kikumaru finally snapped and asked what they all were wondering.

Hari glanced over at him before looking down again and swallowed. She knew she owed them an explanation. But she was not sure how much she should say or was ready to say. She enjoyed being just Hari with them, that they saw her and not her past or anything like that.

"Eiji!" Oishi scolded. "Maybe now not the time to talk about it…"

Hari looked up again and saw the worried looks and she felt guilty all over again. But they were here and they cared. She wasn't used to anyone other than Ron and Hermione and the twins caring about her (and Ryoma of course). She suddenly felt a little lighter and something that reminded her very much of hope rise in her chest as she looked at her friends.

"I'm really sorry," she said again. "I am…used to keeping injuries to myself. It's…"

She frowned and struggled to find the words she needed and she her throat felt thick like something was blocking it and she tried to swallow.

"Hari," Ryoma said and she looked over at him. "It's okay. Just calm down."

She nodded and inhaled before wincing in pain.

"You know I got adopted by Ryoma's parents," Hari said even though they knew, they nodded. "I… I was with my aunt and uncle before…back in England… and…well, they never cared for me. If I got hurt or anything then they would yell at me and complain about what a burden I was. I…am not really used to…I don't know…"

She frowned in frustration for not being able to say it clearly. She fisted a hand and realised with a jolt that her cheeks were wet from tears.

"That's enough," Ryoma said and squeezed the hand he had taken in his. "You don't have to say anything else and you're supposed to be resting."

He looked at the others who looked shocked and angry at what they heard but they nodded when Ryoma looked at them.

They were silent again. It was rare to have all of them together and that it was this quiet. Ryoga came back with something to drink and arched a brow at the silence but didn't say anything as he left again.

...

Ryoga felt worried as he left the room again, but he knew Hari needed this time with her friends so he would leave. He rolled his eyes when he saw Nanjiro lingering in the hallway looking in through the door to the living room. He had a frown on his face as he watched the boys closely.

"Oyaji," Ryoga sighed. "What are you doing?"

"Nanimonai," Nanjiro said.

"You're spying on Hari-chan," Ryoga said. "You shouldn't do that."

"I'm not spying," Nanjiro protested. "I'm just…keeping an eye on Hari. She's sick."

"She's not sick, she's injured," Ryoga said. "And she's fine as long as she's taking it easy. Ryoma will keep an eye on her. Let her talk with her friends."

"But…but one of them might be her boyfriend!" Nanjiro whined although he managed to keep it quiet.

Ryoga sighed and closed the door.

"Go back to the shrine before I call Rinko," Ryoga said and Nanjiro pouted.

"Mean, mean boy," he said but turned to go back to the shrine.

...

Hari smiled as she sat on the sofa and was surrounded by her friends. The tension that had been there when they first came was gone and she was now listening to them talking and laughing like they normally did.

She smiled when Kawamura offered her some sushi from his father's shop and ate it gratefully. She loved his sushi. She even rubbed it in when the others complained that they didn't have anything.

"You know," Kikumaru said turning to look at her. "When we played I had this thought… I haven't had a chance to talk to you about it yet…"

"What?" Hari asked.

The others looked at Kikumaru as well.

"You have motion vision," Kikumaru said.

"Motion vision?" Kachiro asked from the back of the room.

"I haven't heard of it before either," Mizuno said.

"It's when the player's eyesight is so sharp that they'll able to keep up with the movement of the ball," Inui explained pushing at his glasses. "Kikumaru has it."

"Ooh," the first years said.

"And Hari-chan has it too?" Yoshida asked curiously speaking up for the first time.

"Yes," Kikumaru nodded. "Did you know you had it or was it just instincts?"

Hari leaned back on the sofa and watched him with a pensive look.

"I knew," she finally said. "I had help from a friend to develop it more. He taught me how to use it when I played."

"A friend?" Fuji asked curiously.

"Someone I met at a street court after getting, well, lost," Hari grimaced.

"You admit to getting lost!" Kikumaru grinned.

Hari rolled her eyes.

"It's not my fault," Hari muttered.

"And this friend helped you?" Fuji asked while he thought hard. It was something familiar about the way she used it, but he wasn't sure why.

"Yeah," Hari nodded. "He did."

They talked some more until it was very evident that Hari was tired and Tezuka said they should leave. Hari smiled at them.

"Thank you for coming," she said. "I really appreciate it."

...

When they had left Hari was still on the sofa and frowned. She felt worried about Momoshiro. She didn't want him to blame himself for something that was clearly an accident. She had to do something. It was more her fault than his, and he needed to see that.

She started to get up from the sofa when Ryoma came back into the room and immediately scowled at her.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"I'm going to find Momo-chan;" Hari said.

"No," Ryoma said. "You're not leaving the house today. Oka-chan and Oyaji both said so. You need rest, Hari!"

"But…" Hari started.

"You can talk to him when you're back at school!" Ryoma said.

Hari glared at her little brother.

"I need to see him now!" She said. "He blames himself when it's not his fault! Come on, Ryo-chan. He doesn't live that far from here!"

Ryoma still scowled at her as she glared determinedly back at him. He gave a long-suffering sigh.

"You're not going to let this go, are you?" he sighed.

"No, I'm not," Hari said.

"Fine," Ryoma said. "I'll find Momo-sempai and drag him here. Okay?"

Hari looked at him for a moment before she sat back down realising that it was the best compromise she would get.

"Alright," she said.

...

Momoshiro lay back on his bed and stared at the ceiling of his room. He tossed a tennis ball up in the air and watched it as it came back down and he caught it again. All the while his mind kept playing the memory of his tennis ball hitting Hari in the chest over and over.

He heard the doorbell ring but didn't move from the bed. It didn't matter who it was anyway. He knew the others had gone to see Hari earlier today, but he had just left. He couldn't… he just couldn't face her and see just how he had hurt her. What right did he have to see her?

Suddenly there was a knock on the door and it opened before he could answer. He lifted his head and frowned when he saw Ryoma standing there.

"What are you doing here?" Momoshiro asked falling back on the bed.

"Getting you," Ryoma said.

Momoshiro didn't say anything and yelped when Ryoma grabbed his wrist and forcefully dragged him out of bed making him stumbled and struggle to get to his feet. He hadn't known Ryoma had that kind of strength.

"Hey!" Momoshiro called. "What are you doing?"

"I told you," Ryoma said. "I'm getting you. Hari wants to see you and if I don't get you to her she'll break out to find you. So…I'm bringing you to her."

Momoshiro frowned.

"But…I can't," he said. "It's my fault."

Ryoma looked at him.

"It's not," he said. "Please, just see Hari. She needs to see you."

Momoshiro sighed and a part of him wanted to refuse but maybe he owed it to her. If she was angry at him then he should let her tell him. He swallowed.

"Okay," Momoshiro said.

...

Hari looked up when Momoshiro entered the living room. She frowned when he was looking down at his feet and refused to look at her, he looked like he was waiting for her to yell at him or something.

"Momo-chan?" Hari asked. "Are you alright?"

"You're asking me if I'm alright?" Momoshiro asked disbelievingly.

"Yeah…" Hari said slowly. "Shouldn't I?"

He shook his head.

"You're the one who's hurt," he said. "And…it's my fault. I'm sorry, Hari-chan."

Hari got up from the sofa and grimaced slightly in pain but continued over to him. He looked at her with wide eyes.

"It was an accident," she said. "It's not your fault."

"But…"

Hari sat on the sofa again and Momoshiro sat beside her. She looked at him.

"I'm the one who should have told someone that I was injured," Hari said quietly. "It's my fault, not yours."

Momoshiro looked at her and she glanced over at him and met his eyes.

"I should have made sure you were alright," Momoshiro frowned. "I shouldn't have just thought about myself and sulking over being cut from the regulars. If I hadn't then someone would have noticed…"

Hari chuckled. It was a little despite herself but she just couldn't help it. Momoshiro looked at her a little startled.

"What?" he asked.

"It seems like we're both blaming ourselves," Hari explained. "We can keep going like this and never get anywhere. There's always 'should have' and 'if only', but…right now we can't change anything."

Momoshiro looked at her.

"Momo-chan," she looked at him. "You blaming yourself for an accident will not do you any good. It just happened. Maybe things would have been different if you had stayed, but you needed the time to yourself to figure out what you wanted and needed. That is okay."

"But…"

"But it doesn't change the fact that I wouldn't have said anything," Hari interrupted him. "I still would have kept it to myself, and I have gotten used to hiding injuries. I've done it all my life, so it's not sure that anyone would have seen that something was wrong with me."

He frowned and seemed to be in deep thought.

"I don't like talking about my life before I came here," Hari said. "I…don't… but like I told the others earlier today, my aunt and uncle never cared for me. They would tell me that I was a burden when I was sick or injured. I learned to hide it. So, it's not your fault."

Momoshiro stared.

"But you're not a burden!" he protested.

Hari smiled slightly. "I still feel like I am, but… I think I'm starting to see that I'm not."

...

Hari closed her eyes as she rested against the sofa. She felt tired, but a little better after having talked with Momoshiro and her friends. It was good to get it out of the way, or so to speak. She wondered if she could have had this kind of conversation with her friends at Hogwarts.

She had hidden injuries from Ron and Hermione before. She frowned. She had done it without really thinking, but now… maybe she shouldn't have? Would they have been interested in it? She really wished she could see them again, she missed them. But she didn't miss the chaos of being at Hogwarts, of constantly being watched and expected things of. The feeling of being cared of only if she behaved in a certain way or met their standards. Here she was starting to feel like she was cared about without any conditions, and that was not something she ever wanted to give up.

"Hari-chan," Nanjiro called softly and she opened her eyes to look at him. "If you're going to sleep then you should go and find the bed."

"I'm just resting," she said.

He smiled and sat down next to her and after a moment she leaned against him and rested her head on his shoulder. She smiled when she felt his arm around her holding her to him. She felt so safe and comfortable with him.

"Thank you, Otou-chan," she murmured. "I am sorry I didn't tell you."

"You said you were used to hiding injuries," Nanjiro said quietly.

"Mm," Hari didn't open her eyes.

"What kind of injuries?" Nanjiro asked. "Did you need to go to the hospital then?"

Hari didn't say anything for a moment and Nanjiro started to think that she had fallen asleep. He sighed quietly as he worried and tried to push the image of Hari as a child hurt and alone. So alone she felt she had to hide being hurt…

"Bruises, scrapes, I don't know… But I never needed the hospital back then," Hari suddenly said her voice tired and almost slurring. "I think my magic kept it from getting that far… it healed my injuries faster than normal…"

Nanjiro frowned slightly.

"But why didn't it do that now?" he asked.

Hari hummed and shifted a little so she pressed closer to him and he smiled almost involuntarily at the movement.

"I don't have much accidental magic anymore because I have more control over it," she said. "And… well, I think my magic did work on the injury. It's probably why it held for five days before…before…well, before. I just pushed too far. Even magic has its limits…"

Worry churned in his chest but he could see that Hari was so close to sleep now and he should let her rest so he stopped the remaining questions that wanted to spill out as he looked at her. She smiled slightly as her breathing evened out and he could tell that sleep had claimed her.

...

Ryoga stepped into the living room and smiled slightly as he saw Hari sleeping with her head resting on Nanjiro's shoulder.

"Hey, son," Nanjiro smiled at him.

Ryoga wondered what it was with this girl that made the normally happy-go-lucky and irresponsible and slightly immature man so calm and serious and content in a way Ryoga hadn't seen before. But with Hari he seemed to be different, though, he still had his moments of irresponsibility and immaturity.

"Hey, Oyaji," he said. "How is she?"

"Tired," Nanjiro said with a sigh. "She still has a way to go, but I think she managed to clear things up with her friends."

Ryoga nodded.

"That's good," he said.

"Yeah, it is," Nanjiro said. "So, what's up with you, Ryoga? Have you decided what you want to do from now on?"

Ryoga looked at Hari for a moment before he looked back at his father.

"I wish to stay here," he said. "I don't want to go back to New York."

Nanjiro nodded.

"I would love for you to stay here," he said. "So would the others. Have you talked to your aunt?"

Ryoga shook his head.

"No," he said. "Not since I left."

Nanjiro frowned at him. "Why not?"

"I don't want to hear her telling me to come back and say that you don't want me here," Ryoga said with a shrug. "She'll protest me being here just out of spite. It's not like she really wanted me with her either, so…"

Nanjiro frowned as he looked over at his son. A heavy feeling settled in his gut.

"I really failed you," he said mostly to himself. "Alright, I will call your aunt and tell her that you're staying here. You can decide what to do next. If it's school or finding a job."

Ryoga nodded and smiled as he looked back at Hari.

"Can I ask why you want to stay?" Nanjiro asked.

"Hari-chan really showed me that I am a part of this family," Ryoga said despite feeling embarrassed. "She's…really special and I want to be close to her. She became my sister without even trying."

Nanjiro smiled and glanced down at the girl sleeping on him.

"Hari has that ability," he agreed.

 **...**

 **...**

 **AN:** **What do you think? :)**

 **I ended up changing parts of the chapter from what I had originally written, that's why it took a day extra to post it. It ended up being a little angsty as well, but the next one should be lighter again!**

 **Thank you so much for the support and for reading! XD**

 **Japanese words used:**  
 **Ohayo - Good morning**  
 **Mochiron - Of course**  
 **Otou-chan - Dad**  
 **Shirimasen - I don't know**  
 **Hontoni gomen'nasai - I'm really sorry**  
 **Nanimonai - Nothing**  
 **Oka-chan - Mum**  
 **Oyaji - Old man/dad**


	34. Meet the family

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Prince of Tennis!**

 **...**

 **...**

Hari blinked as she noticed Ryoma and Momoshiro standing together and talking quietly. Not that it was strange for them to talk or stand together, but it was the way they looked like they were trying to be inconspicuous about it.

What were they talking about?

She shook her head and continued toward the classroom and soon the scene with Ryoma and Momoshiro was forgotten as she entered the classroom and found Sora and Hira coming toward her with worried looks on their faces.

"Hari-chan!" they both exclaimed. "You're finally back at school!"

"Yeah, I was finally set free from the confinement back home," Hari grinned. "So, what's up?"

"What's up?" Sora asked incredulously. "You were hurt and in the hospital and you ask what's up?!"

Hari shrugged and felt the small remaining sting from her chest at the movement, but it was nowhere near as painful as it had been.

"Seemed like a good enough thing to ask as any," Hari said as she sat down at her desk and looked at them.

"How are you?" Hira asked.

"I'm fine now," Hari smiled. "I still can't practice tennis for a couple of days but the doctors were very pleased with how my injury is healing."

They nodded relieved and Hari leaned back in her seat as she continued to chat with them until the teacher entered the classroom and told everyone to find their seats. Hari looked around and saw that Momoshiro and Kaido had found their seats as well. She frowned slightly as she caught the considering look from Momoshiro. He looked like he was trying to figure something out, but what?

She mentally shrugged as she turned her attention back to the teacher and English class.

...

Hari really felt like she was missing something as she sat at lunch with her phone out and texting with Seiichi (again) and looked up to find Kikumaru, Oishi (though he looked like he tried to protest something), Inui and Kawamura (who looked uncomfortable) staring at her. When they saw her looking they all suddenly looked away and tried very hard to pretend that they hadn't been staring at her.

She frowned slightly as she gave them one more glance before looking back at her phone as another text from Seiichi ticked in. She smiled and soon forgot the watchers as she read the text.

 _I can come to Tokyo this weekend. My parents said it was okay. So, do you think you could spare me sometime this Saturday? I want to take you out on another date. –S._

Another date. He wanted to take her on a date. What could he want to do this time? She felt her smile widen as she remembered their first date at the botanical garden and the flowers…and the kiss. Would he kiss her again? The question entered her mind before she could stop it. She felt her cheeks burning slightly as she remembered it.

She startled slightly as someone suddenly sat down next to her and she saw Ryoma give her a strange look.

"You startled me, Ryo-chan!" Hari gasped.

"What were you thinking about?" Ryoma asked.

Hari shrugged and quickly sent a reply to Seiichi ( _Great! I'll make sure that I have free time for you! – H_ ), before pushing her phone back into her bag.

"How was your lesson?" Hari asked.

"Boring," Ryoma rolled his eyes and started to eat. "How are you feeling? First day back and all…"

"I'm fine, Ryo-chan," Hari smiled reassuringly. "Promise. I feel a little sore still, but I'm much better."

He glanced at her and she almost winced as she saw the searching way he looked at her and hated that she had given him a reason to worry and doubt her words. She really hadn't meant… she stopped herself and pushed the thought away. She shouldn't dwell on it anymore.

"Good," he said and turned back to the food.

Hari sighed quietly as she looked at her brother and suddenly felt like they hadn't really spent time together just the two of them in a while. During her days spent home because of her injury she had been surrounded by someone all the time, and she and Ryoma hadn't really had time just the two of them.

He glanced at her and arched a brow when he saw her looking at him. She smiled and he looked confused.

"Nani?" he asked.

"I was just thinking that it's a while since we spent any time together," Hari said.

He frowned slightly before he nodded and took a sip of the Ponta in front of him.

"I guess," he said. "You…we've both been busy."

"Maa," Hari said. "We should still find time to chat or hang out just the two of us. You're my best friend and my brother."

He blushed and looked away from her and suddenly looked uncomfortable but she saw the small smile on his face.

"Why are you suddenly talking like this?" Ryoma asked a little gruffly.

"Shiru ka?" Hari smiled. "Maybe it's because of what happened. Maybe I just realised that I miss you."

He looked at her quickly again and this time it was her that looked away.

"Do you plan on telling me what you're hiding?" he suddenly asked.

She looked at him again a little surprised by the sudden change in subject. He was looking at her with a pensive look.

"Well?" he asked. "Don't say that you're not hiding anything. Everyone knows it."

Everyone? She thought about the strange looks she had gotten from her teammates lately (even before the incident) and the fact that she was sure they had tried to follow her at one point… So, okay, yeah they probably suspected something.

"Maybe," she said. "I should tell you and Otou-chan and Okaa-chan soon anyway."

Ryoma frowned.

"So?" he asked.

"Not now," Hari said and looked around. "Besides, lunch is almost over."

Ryoma huffed and looked away making Hari smile a little. She was a little surprised that they had actually managed to get through lunch just the two of them, not that she hadn't felt or seen the others look at her because she had, but it was unusual not to be joined by at least a couple of the others from the team.

...

"Why are we spying on Hari-chan?" Oishi frowned as they followed after Hari when the practice was over (she had of course just observed and not taken part in the practice) and she had told Ryoma that she had something to do before going home.

"Because we're trying to figure out who her boyfriend is!" Kikumaru said.

Momoshiro, Ryoma, Inui and even Kawamura had been dragged with Kikumaru who decided that following Hari was the best choice. Fuji just came with because he found it amusing and wanted to observe the fun. Oishi had followed but mainly just to try to stop them. Tezuka and Kaido both had shaken their head (Kaido glaring as he did so) and refused to join them.

"I still think it's wrong," Oishi worried. "What if she finds out? She'll be angry."

"She will be," Fuji nodded in agreement.

"You don't look worried, though," Momoshiro observed.

"Saa," Fuji smiled.

"And how do we know that she has a boyfriend?" Kawamura asked shyly. "Just because she is on the phone a lot…"

"According to my data, Hari-chan is on the phone for about 67 % of the time during free periods and smiles unexpectedly 48 % of the time she is on the phone," Inui listed. "That is pretty conclusive data for Hari-chan having a boyfriend."

Fuji smiled amusedly while the others gave Inui strange looks.

"See!" Kikumaru broke the silence, "and Fujiko says that she has a boyfriend as well."

"It's pretty obvious," Fuji smiled.

"But who can it be?" Momoshiro asked. "I mean… I would have thought it was Fuji."

The others looked at Fuji like they were seeing him for the first time and Fuji arched a brow.

"Me?" he asked.

"You are close," Kikumaru frowned. "And she did say that you have pretty eyes…"

"That's right," Momoshiro nodded. "She did say that."

"And she calls you by a nickname," Kikumaru continued.

"She does that with Echizen and Kaido as well," Oishi pointed out.

"Okay, so that might not be relevant," Momoshiro said, "but still…"

Fuji was smiling amused seemingly enjoying their speculations.

"Then why would I be here following her with you and not over with her?" Fuji asked.

"Well, you…you could just be finding this amusing," Kawamura suggested.

"That is something you would do," Kikumaru nodded.

Fuji just laughed as they turned a corner and saw Hari a little up the street pausing as she looked around with a confused look.

"Oh, she's lost again," Ryoma sighed. "Honestly."

They watched Hari scratch her cheek before she smiled and waved like she was seeing something they hadn't. Which it turned out that she had, seeing that Tachibana Kippei came out of a small store. They talked for a moment and it seemed like he was asking about something and she touched her chest where they knew the bruise was so it was easy to guess what they were talking about.

Was she here to meet him?

Ryoma frowned a little as he watched Hari talk with Tachibana. He knew Hari respected him and thought he was a good tennis player, but could he be her boyfriend?

Soon she waved at Tachibana again and continued to walk while Tachibana crossed the street and disappeared. So she was not there to meet him.

...

They continued down the streets and realised that they were walking in circles. Great. She was lost and therefore they were lost.

"She really needs to learn to pay attention to directions!" Momoshiro whined.

"I know!" Kikumaru agreed.

But Hari didn't seem to have any haste as she walked and even as she paused a few times and looked around (making them try to hide in strange places and earning strange looks) she looked quite content as she walked.

"Hey!" They suddenly heard a voice call and Fuji arched a brow.

"Yuta-kun," they heard Hari greet and sure enough Yuta came up to her and smiled widely as he did.

The rest of the following conversation was too quiet for them to hear but it looked like they got along pretty well and did she just pat his arm?

"I suddenly realised that they're the same age," Kikumaru said. "Um, Fujiko…are your brother dating Hari-chan?"

"Maybe we guessed the wrong brother?" Momoshiro blinked.

Fuji didn't say anything as he looked at his brother talking with Hari and he wondered. Was he dating Hari-chan? He had thought that maybe Yuta liked her, but he hadn't thought that they were actually dating…

"She was pretty protective of him when we played them," Kikumaru said slowly.

Ryoma didn't say anything.

But like earlier Hari soon said goodbye (or waved) and continued to walk. Yuta smiled after her before going back the way he came and out of their sight. He had probably been with some friends or something when he spotted her.

...

"Where is she going now?" Kikumaru groaned as they walked up some long stairs. She was, luckily, not looking behind her because she would have seen them if she had, there were no places to hide where they were walking now.

"I still think we should go home," Oishi said.

"No," Kikumaru refused. "Not yet."

Ryoma was a little worried about all the walking she was doing. It couldn't be good for her to be moving around this much on her first whole day out after her injury.

They reached the top and paused to look around and see if they could see Hari. It took a moment because the place was filled with people of all ages, it looked like a cross between tennis courts and basketball courts and even a skating park at the end. But eventually, they spotted Hari talking with a silvery-white haired boy with a kind smile. She had her arms around his neck like she had just hugged him and was laughing as she talked with him. The way he reached out to stroke her hair back from her face was enough to make the shadows mouths drop open. Had they finally found her boyfriend?!

"Who is he?" Momoshiro asked. "Though… I feel like I've seen him before…"

Fuji frowned as he looked at the boy and blinked as he recognised him. Before he could say anything they saw some other boys coming rushing over and one who loudly called: "HARI-CHAN YOU'RE HERE!" even hugged her but the first boy they had seen her with pulled him off and seemed to be scolding him.

"How does she know him?" Fuji asked out loud.

"You know him?" Kikumaru asked.

"Yes," Fuji said. "He's Saeki Kojiro. He lives in Chiba originally and plays for Rokkaku."

"But how does Hari-chan know him?" Momoshiro asked.

Ryoma frowned. "She got lost once and ended up in Chiba. Maybe it was then."

"Oh, right!" The others said.

"But still…"

They were so busy talking that they didn't notice that Hari had disappeared until Kawamura pointed it out by asking where she went. They looked around and even started to walk further into the courts but couldn't see her anywhere. They saw some of the boys she had briefly greeted play tennis on one of the courts but there was no sign of Hari or Saeki.

"Are you looking for someone?" A voice asked from behind them making them all spin around to find Hari and Saeki looking at them.

...

Hari knew she was being followed. They weren't very subtle about it, but she decided to pretend that she didn't know. So, she walked and walked, she only got lost once but pretended to get lost more times just to give the others an extra-long walk. It would serve them right.

So when she finally reached Saeki she apologised for being late and quickly told him about her shadows and he smiled amusedly. He agreed to play along, and she only wished she could see their faces as they watched.

She pulled away and greeted his team when they noticed her and came to say hey, she noticed their strange looks but she smiled and waved it away at the same time Saeki did. His team just shrugged and after a quick word or two went back to their tennis matches.

She chanced a glance over at where she knew her friends were standing and saw them talking and not paying attention. She grabbed Saeki's hand and pulled him with her and hid behind a large group of people.

So it was easy to come up behind them when they moved further into the court.

"Are you looking for someone?" Hari asked and hid her smirk as they spun around and looked at her guiltily at being caught.

"Um…eh, hey Hari-chan!" Kikumaru tried to say.

"Hey," Hari arched a brow and looked at them without smiling (though she was keeping one back). They shifted on their feet. "What are you doing here?"

"Um… we wanted to play tennis?" Momoshiro said but it sounded like a question.

"Ah, I see," Hari said. "Well, don't let me stop you. I'm just going to go with Jiro-kun and…"

"Is he your boyfriend?!" Kikumaru burst out.

"Eiji!"

"Kikumaru!"

Hari looked at them and heard Saeki chuckle next to her.

"Hey, Shusuke," he smiled. "It's been awhile, hasn't it?"

"It sure has, Kojiro," Fuji smiled. "So, you and Hari-chan?"

Saeki glanced at Hari who still hadn't said anything.

"Ah…" Saeki said and Hari glanced at him and smiled.

"He's just a friend," Hari rolled her eyes. "I knew you were trying to spy on me and guessed you were trying to figure out who my boyfriend was so I had him play along when I met him."

"You knew?!" Momoshiro and Kikumaru exclaimed and even the others looked surprised. Inui was writing in his book as he looked at her and Saeki.

"Since when?"

"Since the school," Hari deadpanned. "You really aren't good spies."

Ryoma shook his head. "Sorry, Hari."

She rolled her eyes, "well, it was amusing."

...

"So, you know Hari-chan?" Fuji asked Kojiro when they had settled down and Hari had been dragged away with some others from Saeki's team. Fuji was slightly surprised that she seemed to know them. The others from his team had joined Hari while he remained to talk with Saeki.

"Yeah," Saeki nodded and smiled. "I've known her for a while now."

"How did you meet?" Fuji asked unable to stop his curiosity.

"She got lost and ended up in Chiba," Saeki said. "I was on my way home from practice and walked past this street tennis court and saw her playing by herself. I could tell she was good, so I stopped and we talked and played. I spent the day with her until she had to take the train back to Tokyo."

Fuji nodded.

"You were the one who taught her about her motion vision, right?" Fuji asked realising why her form seemed familiar.

"Hai," Saeki nodded. "I saw she had it and decided to help. She learned quickly."

Fuji nodded and looked over at Hari who was talking with Kisarazu and Aoi, both looking amused.

"She has met your team," Fuji stated.

Saeki laughed as he told him about the first meeting and the bet making Fuji smiled amused and shook his head. She really did make friends wherever she went and seemed to just bring life and happiness. But what Fuji worried about was the fact that she didn't seem to realise it herself.

"So, not your girlfriend?" Fuji asked and Saeki shook his head.

"No, she's just a good friend," Saeki smiled. "I have a girlfriend back home."

"Oh," Fuji said.

"So you have no idea who this mystery boy is?" Saeki asked glancing at him.

"No," Fuji said. "But I have feeling that Tezuka knows or suspect, but it's impossible to get him to talk."

Saeki smiled, "well, Hari-chan will tell you when she feels it's right. I don't think she's the type to hide her boyfriend away, so she'll probably tell you soon."

...

Hari slowly put her phone down and glanced at the door out of her room. She heard Hedwig squeak but paid no attention to the owl, she just couldn't right now when her mind was going in overdrive. She had just talked to Seiichi, told him about the day before and the prank she had pulled (he had laughed), and he said he wanted to come and pick her up at her house. Like an old fashioned date, with meeting the family before taking her out.

Meeting her family.

She swallowed. She knew it was coming. It wasn't anything she could put off any longer and she didn't want to either, it wasn't like she wanted to hide Seiichi away. She didn't. She wanted to talk about him with those who were important in her life. So, that meant that she had to tell them.

But how could she tell them? Should she just go in and say she got a boyfriend and that he was coming to pick her up this Saturday for a date? Yeah, right. That would go over so well. She could just imagine Nanjiro's reaction.

"Hari?"

She blinked. She hadn't realised that the door had opened and that Ryoma was watching her. She smiled and he came inside closing the door behind him.

"Ryo-chan," she smiled. "What's up?"

"I wanted to make sure you were ok," Ryoma said. "Is your bruise gone?"

"Almost," Hari said. "I barely feel it anymore. I think my magic is working on it as well now, at least the doctor was surprised with how quickly it was healing."

"Why didn't it do that before?" Ryoma frowned.

"It did," Hari gave the same explanation she had given Nanjiro when he had asked, "and now that I've allowed my body to relax and heal the magic has an easier time working on my bruise. If that makes sense?"

"I guess," Ryoma said. "I still find magic a little difficult to understand. But it's fascinating as well."

"Yeah," Hari said. "I should really be working more on my magic, but… I don't really find the time…"

She felt guilty for not doing enough and felt a little worried that she would be in trouble because of it. She mentally shook herself out of her thoughts, she couldn't do anything about it right now anyway.

"You'll figure it out;" Ryoma said confidently. Hari smile slightly.

Hari lay back on the bed and stared at the ceiling while Ryoma settled on the end of the bed and looked at her for a moment before pulling over one of her magic books. He was curious to see what it said.

They stayed like that for a little while both content with just being there even if they didn't talk. Finally, Hari looked over at Ryoma smiled when she saw him reading her charms book.

"I have a boyfriend," Hari said and Ryoma looked up.

"I guessed," Ryoma said simply.

"I know," Hari said. "I just had to see what it felt like to say it out loud."

Ryoma looked at her and watched as she pushed herself up so she was sitting up and leaned against the headboard behind the bed and looked back at him.

"He wants to meet you, and Otou-chan and Okaa-chan this Saturday," Hari confided.

"He wants to meet Oyaji?" Ryoma arched a brow.

"Yes," Hari said.

"Brave boy," Ryoma said making Hari laugh.

Ryoma looked at her before he scowled slightly. He knew there had been a boyfriend, he knew, but hearing her saying it… Actually, say it. That made it real. He wanted to protect her, but he also knew that he shouldn't go all overprotective on her either.

But who could possibly be good enough for his sister? No one. The answer came immediately.

"I can see you going all protective and arguing with yourself in your mind," Hari interrupted his thoughts wryly.

Ryoma scowled at her, "who is it? I don't think it's anyone on our team."

"He's not on our team, no," Hari said and fiddled with the edge of her duvet.

"Then who is he?" Ryoma asked and Hari sighed as she gave him a searching look.

"His name is Yukimura Seiichi," Hari said.

"I don't know who that is," Ryoma frowned, "he's not on any team we have played. He does play tennis? It sounded like he did when you said he wasn't on our team."

"He does play tennis, yeah," Hari said. "Though, not right now, he's still injured and can't play in a little while."

"What team is he on?" Ryoma asked.

"Rikkai Dai," Hari said. "They're from Kanagawa."

Ryoma arched a brow, "then how did you meet him?!"

Hari smiled and it didn't go unnoticed but Ryoma didn't comment on it as she started to tell him how she had met Seiichi and how they had talked and met up when he was in town. She even told him about the first date and the flowers, though not in detail.

Ryoma still felt like scowling as Hari talked but it was clear that this boy really meant a lot to Hari and he didn't want to make her upset either. It was like an inner pulling contest was going on, the wish for Hari to be happy and the wish to protect Hari from everything that could possibly upset her. The two wishes were in constant battle.

"Ryo-chan," Hari looked at him and leaned forward slightly as she did. "I really want you to like him. He's a good guy, please, just give him a chance? Please?"

Ryoma huffed as he met her wide green eyes and when did she learn to make that look? How could he refuse when she looked like that? Like a puppy, or cat pleading.

"Fine," he agreed reluctantly.

"Thanks!" Hari beamed and with a grunt, Ryoma found himself with his arms full of a happy Hari hugging the life out of him. Or so it felt like, but Ryoma didn't complain as he awkwardly patted her on the back.

...

Hari swallowed nervously and looked over at Ryoma who was leaning against the wall by the door out of the living room. She waited for someone to speak but the room was quiet. Nanjiro was staring at her. Quiet. That was probably not a good thing. Rinko blinked but she was smiling slightly now and Hari felt sure that she wouldn't create any trouble.

Should she say something? He had heard her, right? She had clearly said that she had a boyfriend and that he was coming to pick her up on a date tomorrow (best to give it a day to sink in before the meet) and he wanted to meet them.

"I knew there was someone," Rinko smiled. "So cute! And he wants to take you out on a date tomorrow? How nice. Do you know what you're going to do?"

"No, he said it was a surprise," Hari said unable to stop the smile from spreading on her face even as she glanced at Nanjiro nervously.

He should have said something by now, right? Right?

"Sounds nice," Rinko smiled.

"Nice?!" Nanjiro repeated suddenly having found his voice as he jumped to his feet and looked widely between Hari and Rinko. "How is it nice?! A BOY wants to take Hari-chan on a date?!"

"A second date," Ryoma added and Hari frowned at him but Ryoma just shrugged.

"That's right! A second date! Who's this boy who thinks he is good enough to date my little girl?!" Nanjiro ranted having started to pace up and down the floor waving his hands around widely. "The nerve! Who dares to think…!"

Hari sighed as he continued to rant and glanced over at Rinko who had closed her eyes and were pinching her nose between her eyes.

"Nanjiro!" Rinko finally snapped and swatted the back of her husband's head making him stop and turn toward her with a scowl. "You're being insane."

"I'm not!" He protested. "Didn't you hear?! Hari-chan says she has a boyfriend. A B-O-Y-F-R-I-E-N-D! You know a boy who's more than just a friend! Who would ki-ki-k…" It looked like he couldn't get the word out.

"I know what a boyfriend is, thank you," Rinko said exasperatedly. "And it's sweet. Hari-chan deserves someone who makes her smile like that, and it's not like she said she was going to get married, Nanjiro. Do calm yourself."

Nanjiro looked horrified and spun around to look at Hari who tried to keep calm as she watched them and stop herself from fidgeting too much.

"You're not allowed to marry!" Nanjiro declared and before Hari could even say that no one had said anything about marriage and that she was still just 13 (though soon 14) years old and it was way too soon to be thinking about that she found herself hugged tightly. "You're going to stay here and be my little girl forever and you'll never leave to be with some scary and hormonal boy who will steal you away from me!"

Hari mumbled something but no one could hear what she was saying because her face was mushed against his shoulder.

...

Ryoga whistled as he entered the house and wondered how Hari was today. He had heard about the spying attempt from her team and wondered if they had tried again. So hilarious. He was so going to enjoy watching the drama unfold…

Talking about drama… he paused as he entered the living room and saw his father attempting to hug Hari to death (?) and looked around the room like someone would be jumping out from the shadow and snatch her up and take her away or something.

He smiled.

"Ah, you've found out about the boyfriend, I assume?" he asked casually as he flopped down at the sofa and looked over at his father and Hari. He glanced at Ryoma who frowned at him when he looked away from the hug-attack (and didn't he look amused? Ryoga snorted inwardly).

"You knew?" Ryoma asked as Nanjiro turned his eyes to him as well.

"About Yukimura? Sure," Ryoga said tossing his orange and catching it. "You're going to suffocate her like that, Oyaji, you know that, right?"

Nanjiro blinked before he pulled back a little and Hari took a deep breath of air in relief and scowled at him.

"Seriously, Otou-chan! You're trying to squeeze me to death?"

"Of course not," Nanjiro said. "I'm going to protect you from evil boys who want to marry you!"

"Marry?" Ryoga arched a brow. "Well, that went fast."

Hari glared at him. "You're not helping! And neither are you!"

She turned to Ryoma who was smirking slightly.

"Sei-chan is my boyfriend," Hari said ignoring the flinch from Nanjiro, "and he's a good boy. No one has said a word about marriage! We're teens! We're not thinking about that!"

"But you…"

"No!" Hari scowled at Nanjiro who pouted. "You're going to meet him tomorrow and you're going to be NICE! And so are you!" She glared at Ryoma. "You promised!"

Ryoma pouted and looked away.

"But Ryoga-nii knows this Yukimura?" Ryoma asked again. "How?"

Hari was suddenly behind the couch and put a hand over Ryoga's mouth before he could say a word about having seen the kiss.

"He saw him dropping me off after our first date," Hari said and ignored the mumbled words from her big brother. "And that's all."

"I can talk," Ryoga said when she pulled her hand away.

"I don't trust you to not try to make the situation worse," Hari scowled at him.

He held up his hands in surrender but a smirk was playing on his lips.

"Do you understand, Otou-chan?" Hari turned her eyes to Nanjiro who was crunched on the floor and poking at the wood with a deep scowl on his face.

"Evil boys… trying to corrupt my sweet, sweet girl… evil…" he was muttering under his breath.

Rinko was smiling as she watched Hari glaring at Nanjiro who was deep in his own misery. It was rather amusing to watch her husband being put in place by Hari.

"He'll behave, dear," Rinko said and hugged Hari. "I look forward to meeting your boy."

...

Hari looked frustrated at the selection of clothes she had dragged out of her closet and had managed to spread over the bed. Why didn't she have anything nice? And what exactly was he planning? How was she supposed to dress when she had no idea where they were going?

And since when did she even care? It was Lavender and Parvati who cared about these kinds of things… and suddenly she wished she could have asked them because they would know what she could wear.

Why was this so difficult? She mentally whined as she picked up a top and held it up against her and looked at herself in the mirror with critical eyes.

She was still going through her clothes when there was a knock on the door and Rinko poked her head inside.

"You're ready?" She asked.

"I'll never find something to wear," Hari complained. "I don't have anything nice!"

Rinko smiled as she stepped into the room and her eyes swept over the mess of clothes. Hari watched as Rinko walked over to the bed and went through some of the tops before picking up a green one and a black pair of trousers that Hari didn't even remember she owned.

"This is nice," Rinko said. "You try it on."

Hari nodded and quickly tried it on and blinked as she looked at herself. The trousers were nicely fitting her legs and actually made her seem a little taller, and the green top was casual but also nice as it hung just loosely enough on her.

"There," Rinko smiled. "That's perfect. You really do fit green; it enhances your eyes perfectly."

Hari couldn't help but feel surprised as she looked at herself.

"I never would have thought about this," Hari said.

"It comes with practice," Rinko smiled. "Do you want me to help you with your hair?"

Hari looked at her for a moment and for some reason she felt a little emotional so she just nodded. She sat down on the bed when Rinko motioned to it. Hari smiled softly as she felt Rinko start to work on her hair and the way her hands brushed through her hair as she did.

This was what having a mother felt like. The thought came so suddenly and made Hari fight the tears threatening to pop up. She sniffled a little but Rinko didn't comment and Hari was really grateful for that.

Ten minutes later Rinko pulled back and Hari looked at the mirror. Hari normally just kept her hair down (and messy like it always was if she didn't fight with it to make it stay flat or as flat as it could possibly stay) or pulled it back into a ponytail. But this… She blinked. Her hair was partly up and partly loosely hanging down. The upper parts of the hair were braided back and somehow managed to keep her hair from seeming to wild and messy. It also gave her hair layers and it looked good.

"I…thanks," Hari said.

"You're welcome," Rinko smiled. "I always wanted a daughter and braid her hair. Your hair has so much potential."

"My hair is a mess most of the time," Hari said but blushed lightly at the confession from Rinko.

"It fits you," Rinko brushed her cheek lightly before she got up. "Now, it's not too long before your boy is here, I think. Probably a good idea to be downstairs when he comes. We don't want to have Nanjiro scaring him away, do we?"

...

Hari smiled a little nervously as she opened the door for Seiichi who blinked once when he saw her before smiling.

"You look pretty," he said.

"Arigatou," Hari smiled. "Um. Come in."

He stepped inside and Hari closed the door behind him. No way back now. They were doing this. She inhaled trying to calm her nerves and felt Seiichi look at her.

"You're nervous," he observed.

"I can't help it," Hari said. "I don't want Otou-chan to scare you off."

She said the last part as a kind of joke but it felt flat and she knew that Nanjiro really would do his best to scare him off and…

"It'll be fine," Seiichi interrupted her thoughts. "He won't scare me off."

"You haven't met him," Hari muttered but smiled. "Alright. Come on."

She led him into the living room and found Rinko and Nanjiro standing up and Ryoma and Ryoga were on the sofa both looking toward the door. Ryoga waved at Seiichi who nodded politely to him but his eyes were mostly looking at the couple standing up.

"Otou-chan, Okaa-chan," Hari said. "This is Yukimura Seiichi, my boyfriend."

Hari felt like she could hear her heart beat in the quiet room as she waited for someone to say something.

"Hello, Yukimura-kun," Rinko smiled warmly and stepped forward holding out her hand. "It's so nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, Echizen-san," Seiichi bowed politely before shaking her hand. "Hari-chan has told me a lot about you and your family. I know she really cares about you all."

Hari was looking at Nanjiro who was staring at Seiichi with narrowed eyes and his arms folded over his chest. Dismissive. That was his whole attitude, and Hari really wished…

"Hello, sir," Seiichi turned toward Nanjiro. "I'm Yukimura Seiichi and I really do care about your daughter."

Hari blinked and wondered where Seiichi got the courage. Or maybe he just was crazy…?

The silence in the room stretched and Hari frowned at her adoptive father who was still staring at Seiichi who met his eyes calmly. Just where did he find that calm?!

"Hmph," Nanjiro finally made a sound. "You're the brat who thinks he's good enough for Hari-chan."

"Otou-chan!" Hari protested.

"As long as Hari-chan thinks I'm good enough I'm not going to be stupid enough to let her go," Seiichi said momentarily stunning Hari because what 14-year-old talked like that? And she was stunned because the sincerity lacing his voice. "She's special and kind, strong and vulnerable, compassionate and mischievous. And I know I'm lucky she sees something in me worth her while because I know she could have anyone she wanted."

Hari wasn't the only one staring at him but he remained staring at Nanjiro who had a pensive look in his hazel brown eyes. He didn't look as dismissive as before, so Hari counted that as a win.

"Hmph," Nanjiro said again but his tone was softer. At least a little. "At least it seems like you realise some of Hari-chan's worth."

"Yes, sir," Seiichi said.

Hari stepped up to him and took his hand because she couldn't stop herself. She felt…she wasn't sure what she felt. Happy? Touched? So many emotions were running through her as she stood beside him and she couldn't help the smile on her face either and it widened when Seiichi looked over at her and gave a small smile of his own. Like he saw something he liked.

"Ryo-chan," Hari turned to her brother. "Come and meet Sei-chan."

Ryoma pushed himself up from the sofa and walked over with slow deliberate steps and his eyes scanned Seiichi who turned to look at him as well.

"The famous brother," Seiichi smiled politely. "Nice to meet you."

"You too," Ryoma said and glanced at Hari who smiled. "You play tennis?"

Hari rolled her eyes at the question but squeezed Seiichi's hand because she knew it was still a sore subject for him.

"Yes, but I'm not able to play right now," Seiichi said. "But I should be back to playing by Nationals if everything goes as planned."

Ryoma glanced to Hari before looking back at him.

"I see," Ryoma said. "I look forward to playing you then."

"Honestly, does everything have to be tennis with you, Ryo-chan?" Hari asked.

"No, we could talk about you," Ryoma shot back and Hari scowled at him.

Ryoga laughed. "Nice seeing you again, Yukimura. How's the team holding up?"

"Good," Seiichi said. "They're getting ready for the Kanto Tournament."

Hari noticed Nanjiro looking at Seiichi with narrowed eyes but he also seemed interested. Tennis always interested him in some way, and she was sure he saw the potential for talent in Seiichi.

Rinko had been quiet as she watched and smiled as she saw the way Hari and Seiichi acted and moved around each other. She had never seen Hari so content, so relaxed around anyone who wasn't Ryoma before. She didn't seem to have any of her walls up and to Rinko, that meant a lot.

...

"Thank you," Hari said as soon as they had left the house and was walking down the street. "I can't believe you actually managed to make Otou-chan stop before he got into a full rant."

Seiichi smiled and squeezed her hand.

"I just said the truth," he said and smiled wider when he spotted the blush in her cheeks. "So, I think that went well?"

She glanced at him and realised that he must have been nervous as well but he hid it so well. She nodded and before she could talk herself out of it leaned up and kissed his cheek. He blinked before smiling.

"It went very well," Hari said. "You were amazing."

Seiichi smiled again and they continued to walk.

"So, where are we going?" Hari asked.

"I was thinking we could go and watch a movie?" Seiichi suggested glancing at her.

...

Hari felt a thrill as she sat inside the dark movie theatre beside Seiichi and felt his hand in hers. It wasn't like they were doing anything but just the feeling of his hand in hers and the dark gave them a semblance of being alone even with others spread around the room… it was enough to make her smile.

"The movie was awesome," Hari said.

He glanced at her and smiled, "I'm a little surprised that you chose to watch that one and not one of the romantic comedies."

"Did you want to watch a romantic comedy?" Hari asked.

"Not particularly," Seiichi shrugged. "But I didn't think you would have wanted to watch an action movie."

Hari laughed as she felt the fresh air against her cheeks and inhaled as she looked at Seiichi who was watching her with a smile. She felt her own smile widen a little as she took in the way he was looking at her.

"I never really watched many movies," Hari said looking away from him. "I've watched a few action movies with Ryo-chan since arriving in Tokyo, but before that…"

She felt him looking at her and she knew he was thinking about what she had said or maybe not said. She waited but he didn't ask and she couldn't resist turning to look at him again. He smiled at her but didn't say anything and she felt relieved and even a little touched that he seemed to be holding his questions back.

She wasn't sure she really wanted to go into the whole Dursley-thing and not being allowed to watch movies. She remembered catching glimpses of movies Dudley watched growing up, the Disney movies and later the action ones, and wishing that she would be able to get lost in a movie and dream of another life.

"Come on," Seiichi said and pulled at her hand bringing her out of her thoughts again.

She looked around and saw an ice cream parlour in front of them and she blinked. She looked at Seiichi who smiled.

"What flavour do you want?" Seiichi asked.

After deciding the flavour (chocolate, caramel, pistachio, strawberry and raspberry) they found a table and sat down placing the large ice cream between them so they could share.

"I can't wait," Hari grinned.

Seiichi laughed and handed her one of the spoons. She took it and dug into the ice cream and felt how it melted on her tongue.

"We're never going to be able to eat all this," Hari laughed.

"Maybe not," Seiichi agreed. "But it is good."

"Yeah," Hari nodded. "It's the best ice cream I've ever had."

She hummed happily as she enjoyed the flavours and the taste lingered on her tongue. She couldn't help but think that this ice cream tasted much better than the ice cream she'd had at Hogwarts.

They talked as they ate and didn't seem to notice the looks they got from the others in the ice cream parlour nor did they hear the whispering conversations about them. Both lost to the conversation and the ice cream.

"I think I'm going to burst," Hari groaned when the ice cream finally was done. "I can't believe we actually ate all that!"

"Shitte iru," Seiichi nodded. "It probably wasn't a good idea to buy so much…"

"Next time we'll do better," Hari nodded but she secretly hoped that they would do exactly the same again because this was fun.

...

"It was a perfect day," Hari said when they once more were in front of her house. She knew that she wouldn't have long before Nanjiro showed up, he probably checked the front gate every few minutes. So she would enjoy the time she still had with Seiichi by herself. "Thank you."

"No need to thank me," Seiichi smiled and reached out to push a strand of her hair away from her face, it had escaped sometime during their walk. "I like spending time with you."

Hari smiled happily and nodded. "I like to spend time with you too, Sei-chan."

He smiled back at her and took a step closer to her and she tried to calm down the storm of butterflies that was suddenly going off in her stomach as he came closer and she could hear her heart beat in her chest.

 **Ba-thump. Ba-thump. Ba-thump…**

He paused when he was almost there and she looked up at him and saw his intense violet-blue eyes look back at her and she understood. It was up to her if she wanted it. She leaned forward and her eyes flickered closed as his lips met hers.

His lips felt soft, careful, at first but when she pushed back more he deepened the kiss and felt how she pressed against him making him feel her curves against his body and his hand went to her hair. He kissed her again and again and he wondered if he ever would grow tired of this feeling. He didn't believe so.

Hari was feeling the same. She loved the feeling she got when she was in his arms and his kisses. They were addicting…

Suddenly a flapping sound interrupted their kissing and Seiichi pulled away when he felt something against his cheek and he blinked dazed before his eyes landed on sharp yellow eyes locked on him. It took a second to realise that the yellow eyes belonged to a snowy owl and said owl was glaring at him.

"Hedwig!" Hari exclaimed and the owl landed on her shoulder and nipped at her hair. "What are you doing, girl?"

"She's…someone you know?" Seiichi asked.

Hari looked at him.

"Um." She scratched her cheek with one finger. "She's my owl. Her name is Hedwig."

"You have an owl?" Seiichi asked surprised.

"Yeah," Hari nodded. "I got her as a birthday present when I turned 11 from a friend."

Just then they heard the door open and Nanjiro appeared. Hari blinked and looked at Hedwig.

"Were you warning us, Hedwig?" Hari asked quietly and got a quiet hoot back. "Thank you, girl."

"You're back," Nanjiro said and eyed Seiichi suspiciously and Seiichi suddenly felt very grateful to the owl who had interrupted them. It was better that it was the owl and not her father, he thought even if the owl glaring at him also felt a little disconcerting.

"Yes, Otou-chan," Hari said patiently though she rolled her eyes so only Seiichi could see and he bit down on his lips to stop from smiling.

 **...**

 **...**

 **AN:** **What do you think? XD**

 **Hope you liked it! I decided on having Hari telling Nanjiro (and the others) about Seiichi instead of having him finding out on his own. While the humour of having Nanjiro discovering them on their own had potential and I actually wrote it out, I decided on having Hari telling them. Mostly because it's a trust-thing. Hari deciding to share something important to her with them and opening up a little. It felt more important to do it like this. :) Hope it met your expectations! :)**

 **Next chapter should have more from the British Wizards in it and the Kanto Tournament is right around the corner now. :)**

 **As always, thank you so much for reading and supporting the story! :)**

 **Japanese words used:**  
 **Nani - What**  
 **Maa - Filler**  
 **Shiru ka - Who knows**  
 **Saa - Filler**  
 **Hai - Yes**  
 **Arigatou - Thank you**  
 **Otou-chan - Dad**  
 **Okaa-chan - Mum**  
 **Shitte iru - I know**


	35. The Dream

**Discalimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Prince of Tennis!**

 **...**

 **"Parseltongue"**

 **...**

 **...**

 _The crackling from the fireplace sounded loud in the darkened room, the chair was barely lit up by the light cast from the fireplace. A man was kneeling on the floor in front of a high chair._

" _I want Harriett Potter," a cold hissing voice said._

" _M-my L-lord," a simpering voice answered._

" _Wormtail, quit your simpering," the cold voice said. "I want Harriett Potter!"_

" _She…she was quit Hogwarts, M-my Lord," Wormtail squeaked._

 _The room was quiet for a moment as the man kneeling on the floor twitched slightly but kept his head bowed low._

" _Then she should be easier to get to," the cold voice said._

" _Y-yes, M-my Lord," Wormtail said._

" _She is with the Muggles?" the cold voice sneered._

" _I...I suppose so, M-my Lord," Wormtail said._

" _Crucio!"_

 _Wormtail fell to the ground screaming and jerking violently as he thrashed around on the carpet. The curse was lifted and left whimpering and shaking on the floor._

" _Get up," the cold voice hissed. "Get up, you pathetic fool!"_

 _Wormtail managed to push himself up and knelt before the chair again._

" _You suppose so? Eh, Wormtail?" The cold voice asked. "You should know where Harriett Potter is! I need her!"_

" _B-but she must be…pr-protected, M-my Lord," Wormtail stuttered and flinched when a loud hiss escaped the owner of the cold voice. "I-I mean…D-Dumbledore would ma-make sure-sure that-that she can't be tou-touched."_

" _And what do you suggest I do?"_

" _You…cou-could use someone else, M-my L-lord," Wormtail said. "It doesn't have to be P-Potter."_

" _Someone…else?"_

" _I-I could go out and fi-find someone for you, M-my Lord," Wormtail said and his voice had gained a little confidence. "It wo-would only take a f-few days."_

 _The crackling from the fire was the only thing heard for a long while._

" _I see. Do you think we could use someone other than Harriett Potter? We can't! It has to be Harriett Potter! She is the only one who will do! You aren't suddenly showing concern for the daughter of your late friends, are you Wormtail?"_

" _N-n-no! Of c-course not!" Wormtail denied. "I just…"_

" _You just thought you would leave me here helpless and unable to protect myself!" The voice hissed. "Don't think you've fooled me, Wormtail! I see the way you look at me! I see the way you cringe and look disgusted by the idea of touching me! If you left who would milk Nagini? Who would help me?!"_

" _You…You are stronger, My Lord, I thought you would be fine for a few days…"_

" _Liar!" The voice hissed. "Lies, Wormtail! You regret coming to find me! You wish you never did!"_

" _I…never…"_

" _The fear of your friends is the only reason you came to find me," the voice said. "I know. I know all, Wormtail. But no matter. We will get Harriett Potter and soon a true servant will find us and then we will take action. We're going to find Harriett Potter and this time she will not get away!"_

 _..._

With a gasp Hari jerked up in her bed breathing hard and her heart was pounding in her ears. Her hand flew up to her scar and pressed against it trying to make the pain go away. She fought nausea as she tried to calm her breathing. Sweat was dripping from her forehead and she could feel how her t-shirt was sticking to her back.

A nightmare. That was all it was. Just a nightmare.

She tried to convince herself as she tried to calm down but the dream and the throbbing scar wouldn't let go as she sat up in bed. It had been so…real. But it couldn't be real. There was no way that it was. She was just worked up because of the nightmare.

She rubbed the scar almost absentmindedly as the pain ebbed away and soon it was gone like it hadn't hurt at all. But it had…and last time it had hurt like that Voldemort had been close.

Her breathing picked up again as fear spread through her. Voldemort had been close… But he couldn't be now, right? He didn't even have a body!

She got out of bed and almost ran to the window and looked out. It was still dark outside but from the streetlights, she couldn't see anything moving. She listened closely as she tried to pick up noises that were strange or unfamiliar, but she couldn't hear anything. But that didn't mean…

But… Last time her scar had hurt Voldemort had been at the back of Quirrell's head! Dumbledore said that her scar hurt when Voldemort was close. But he couldn't be close now…

Her hands clenched into tight fists as she tried to calm herself down. She was not going to go into a panic… She stared out of her window again but still couldn't see anything.

She needed…someone. She didn't want to be alone.

She moved before she really thought about it and was out of her room and outside of Ryoma's room without realising that she had moved. She hesitated though when she touched his doorknob and wondered if she really was going to wake him up just because she had a nightmare.

 _I want Harriett Potter. I need her._

Voldemort's cold voice echoed in her mind and she opened the door and slipped inside before closing the door behind her. She saw Ryoma sleeping on the bed and he looked peaceful. He always did when he slept. Karupin was at the end of the bed but wasn't sleeping, his head was raised slightly and he blinked at her.

Hari walked over to the bed and looked down at Ryoma. Seeing her little brother helped calm her down a little. He was there and he was safe. Voldemort wasn't close to her.

She sat down on the bed and nudged his shoulder slightly. She did feel bad for waking him but…she needed him. He shifted slightly and his eyes flickered open, he blinked a couple of times before he focused in on her.

"Hari?" his voice sounded sleepy and he blearily blinked up at her. "What's wrong?"

She swallowed and her throat felt really dry all of the sudden. She felt stupid and silly for even being here but she was and she had woken him up so she had to face it.

"I…" she tried but her voice trailed off.

He pushed himself up and rubbed his eyes as he looked at her. She felt a flash of affection go through her as she looked at him.

"Hari?" he asked again.

"I'm sorry," she said hurriedly. "I shouldn't have woken you up…"

"It's fine," he said. "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing," she said. "I'm just being silly… It was just a nightmare…"

He frowned slightly as he looked at her.

"You want to talk about it?" he asked.

She looked at him and he was concerned when he noticed the fear in her eyes, it wasn't strong but it was there underneath the embarrassment and wariness.

"No," she whispered. "I would rather forget it."

He didn't say anything for a moment as he looked at her. He sighed softly before he moved slightly to the side in his bed and she blinked at him.

"Come on," he said a little awkwardly. "You need to sleep."

"Oh, but…"

"Hari," he looked at her. "Get into the bed. You'll stay here and sleep. You need to sleep."

Hari swallowed and tried to tell herself that she didn't need to stay with Ryoma, that she should go back into her own room and bed and stay there like the big girl she was. But… the offer of comfort and safety was too much.

"Thanks," she whispered as she slipped into the bed and lay down beside her brother. She smiled slightly as she felt him move and shuffle around to find a comfortable position again.

...

Hari felt bad for having woken Ryoma up, but she couldn't help but feel grateful and oddly content as she laid beside him on his bed. He had fallen asleep again but her mind wouldn't shut up so she was still awake, but she didn't mind too much since she wasn't alone.

How long had it been since she had sought someone out after a nightmare? Had she ever done that before? She wasn't sure.

But her mind went back to Voldemort and the dream. Now, with Ryoma's steady breathing next to her, the dream didn't seem as scary and threatening. It had let go slightly, but still…

She wasn't able to shake the worry over her scar hurting again. But she was sure that Voldemort wasn't anywhere close to her now because no one knew she was in Japan. There was no way he could be close to her, so why did her scar hurt?

And how could he actually talk with Wormtail? She tried to think but she hadn't actually seen him, just heard his voice. And it had been his voice. It was a voice she never would forget. She felt a stab of fear again and turned to look at Ryoma and let the view of her brother calm her down. She was safe. She was with Ryoma.

But if Voldemort was looking for her and it was true what she had seen in the dream, then was she really safe? Oh, why did he keep coming after her? Why was he so obsessed with her? The stupid git. He should realise that she was just a girl and not where the treat was.

But… if he came looking for her and actually found her then her family would be in danger. She frowned and curled closer to Ryoma as she needed to closeness. She didn't want to lose what she had managed to build up here. She was not going to let him take it from her!

Not again!

...

Ryoma watched Hari who was talking with Nanako over the breakfast table. She looked to be okay now but he couldn't help but feel worried. She must have been really scared after her nightmare and it must have been really bad for her to actually come to him like that.

Unfortunately she had already gotten up when he woke up this morning so he hadn't had a chance to actually talk to her about it. And now she was talking with Nanako. He was sure she did this on purpose. Just so she could avoid talking to him.

"Morning," Ryoma mumbled as he stepped further into the kitchen and Hari glanced over at him and he saw the embarrassment, wariness and gratefulness in her eyes as she looked at him. Nanako smiled and placed a plate of food down at the table next to Hari.

"Morning," Nanako said.

Ryoma sat down and started to eat.

"So, tell me more about your date, Hari-chan," Nanako said.

Ryoma swallowed and glanced over at Hari who was still looking at him but now she turned back to Nanako with a soft smile.

"It was great," Hari said. "He took me to watch a movie. It was a great film, and then we walked a little before we went for ice cream."

Ryoma listened to her talk about her date and heard her voice lighten up as she talked about it, and he almost felt grateful because if the date could get her mind off whatever bothered her then it was a good thing.

He was also curious about this Yukimura Seiichi and wanted to know more about him. He had seemed to be okay last night, but he couldn't really say that he knew him. For all he knew he could be a very good actor…but the way he had handled Nanjiro was great. Even Ryoma had to admit that.

Ryoma kept a close eye on Hari as she continued to talk and while the fear he had seen in her last night was gone she still seemed a little…off somehow. He couldn't quite place it, but there was a new frailness about her that hadn't been there yesterday.

"Are you going to see him again today?" Nanako asked bringing Ryoma out of his thoughts as he looked at Hari.

"Hai," Hari nodded. "I'm meeting him for lunch before he has to go back home. He has school tomorrow."

"Long distance is a challenge," Nanako nodded in understanding.

Hari sighed but shrugged, "it's worth it."

Ryoma looked pensively at her before he noticed a movement from the corner of his eyes and realised that Nanjiro was watching them half-hidden in the doorway to the living room. He was mouthing something to himself as his tragic eyes were locked on Hari.

Ryoma snorted and looked back at his food and focused on finishing it.

"He's been there since I first came down," Hari commented to Ryoma.

"He's trying to not say something about Yukimura, I take it?" Ryoma smirked.

Hari rolled her eyes but nodded. "I guess I should be grateful he is trying."

Ryoma snorted but didn't say anything.

...

Ryoma was frowning slightly as he put the racket back into the bag. He had met the others for an unofficial team practice, having gotten the text from Momoshiro earlier asking him to join them. He was aware that the others shot him questioning looks, and he knew it was because Hari wasn't there. She had not shown up and it was a little strange. At least the fact that she hadn't responded to the text. Though, he knew she was meeting Seiichi so he also knew why she wasn't here.

He still hadn't gotten the chance to talk to her on his own. She had gotten up right after she'd finished eating and said she was going out to meet Seiichi and ignoring Nanjiro's protests and sidestepping his hug attempt (knowing she was caught if she let him hug her).

Ryoma wasn't sure if he should laugh or cry watching his father's pathetic attempts to prevent Hari from going out to meet her boyfriend. Rinko had shaken her head and swatted the back of his making him pout and stare at the door where Hari had just left.

"Come on, let's go and eat," Momoshiro suggested with a grin.

Ryoma glanced at him before he nodded, "okay."

The rest of the regulars of the team ended up deciding to join them and soon they were on their way. Ryoma barely listened to the conversations around him as he walked beside Momoshiro. His mind was still thinking about Hari and her nightmare. He should have made sure to talk to her before she left, then he wouldn't be this distracted and worried.

"I wonder why Hari-chan didn't show up, nya," Kikumaru said. "She normally does."

"Yeah," Momoshiro nodded. "She always loves to come to practice."

"Maybe it's because she can't practice yet herself?" Kawamura asked making the others get a pensive look as they nodded.

"Echizen?" Fuji asked and Ryoma blinked as he was brought out of his thoughts.

"Eh?"

"Do you know why Hari-chan didn't come today?" Fuji asked.

Ryoma did know but he wasn't sure what to say so he just grunted and shrugged. It was up to Hari to let them know who her boyfriend was. The others looked away from him disappointed but Fuji kept looking and had a knowing look in his eyes.

They reached the burger place just then much to Ryoma's relief and he followed the others inside hearing them laugh and talk as they did. He sighed softly telling himself to snap out of it and focus on what was going on around him.

"Oy!" He snapped when he walked straight into Momoshiro's back when he stopped abruptly. Ryoma rubbed his head as he glared at Momoshiro making him notice that it wasn't just Momoshiro who had stopped. It was all of them and they were all staring at the same spot. Ryoma followed their eyes curious to see what had made them stop like that.

Ah. He realised why they had stopped and he felt a little flare of apprehension go through him realising that this could get…loud.

"EH?!"

"HARI-CHAN?!"

...

Hari walked to the park where she was meeting Seiichi and had to work to not turn and look behind her to see if someone was following her. She hated the sudden fear she felt walking down these streets, she had not felt like this since she had been at Hogwarts.

Even if the dream was faded and she couldn't really remember any details about it anymore it still had her jumpy. She reached up and rubbed her scar as she remembered the pain that had blinded her in the middle of the night.

Why had her scar hurt again? What did it mean?

The questions wouldn't leave her alone as she thought about it. She always came back to Dumbledore's explanation again and again, but there was no way that Voldemort was close to her now! He wasn't!

A car door slammed shut had her jump and she felt her heart beat faster as her eyes sought out the source. She saw the family moving from the car and toward a house making her sigh and shake her head. She started to walk again and this time quickened her pace as she just wanted to reach the park and Seiichi.

"Hey," a voice said and she jumped.

She spun around and saw Seiichi looking at her with a concerned look on his face.

"Hey," she said smiling a little.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, sorry," Hari rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "I guess I was lost in my own thoughts and didn't hear you come up."

He looked a little doubtful but nodded, "okay."

He walked over to a bench and sat down making her follow him and take place beside him. She felt a little stupid for jumping just by him saying hey, but she still couldn't shake the uneasiness she felt. She glanced around but there was nothing out of the ordinary around them.

 _Stop it; you're being paranoid and silly, Hari thought to herself._

She blinked when a hand reached over and closed around hers and squeezed it gently and she looked up and saw the concerned look in the violet-blue eyes.

"You sure you are okay?" he asked.

"Yes," she nodded. "I really am fine."

"Well, did your dad give you trouble last night?" Seiichi asked looking at her closely.

"He's been giving me these looks all day," Hari snorted. "And tried to keep me from going out."

"Well, I'm glad you got out," Seiichi said and Hari laughed.

She looked down at the hand holding hers and she smiled slightly. She felt herself relax slightly as she felt his warm hand in hers and the comforting presence next to her. She looked up and met his eyes and couldn't help but smile as he was looking right at her and looked like he liked what he saw.

He reached out and pushed a strand of her hair out of her face like he had done so many times before but it comforted her and settled something inside of her that she didn't even know needed to be settled.

"Tell me about your friends," he said.

She smiled and started to tell him about the team and their lively and often chaotic practices and as she talked she relaxed even more. She had a feeling that it was what he had wanted and he looked pleased as she waved a hand to explain a point.

They stayed there on the bench and just talked for a long time and as they did Hari managed to pretend that the dream never had happened. She was just Hari, a normal girl that was out with the boy she liked and for some reason liked her back.

"Your team sure seems like a lively lot," Seiichi said.

"Yeah," she smiled fondly.

She blinked when he suddenly was closer and now any thought other than Seiichi was blown out of her mind as he reached out and cupped her face and she could feel his warm hand against her cheek and his breath was on her face, so close was he.

She couldn't stop the blush from creeping up her neck and into her cheeks as she realised just how close he was and wishing that he would kiss her again.

"You are pretty when you blush," he whispered and without giving her time to answer he leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers making her mind go pleasantly blank.

It wasn't even their first or even their second kiss but Hari still felt like it was, her eyes flickered closed as she kissed back. Her hand holding his tightening around his and she felt him squeeze back.

It was strange because she didn't have any experience when it came with kissing, but with Seiichi… it just felt natural. Oh, she knew she must be awkward and a little lost on, well, how it worked, but she didn't feel like she messed it up.

She felt his hand moved from her cheek and over her hair and to the back of her neck. His fingers played with a strand of her hair as he kept kissing her, softly but yet also a little more fiercely than before.

She felt like her cheeks were burning up and her body felt hot but she didn't want him to stop kissing her, but of course, he eventually pulled back and they both breathed a little rougher than normal as he rested his forehead against hers.

"Why did you stop?" she blurted out before blushing madly and looking away. Why had she said that? Oh, she was so…

"I think we're a little too out in the open to continue like this," Seiichi said and she glanced up at him and saw the smile on his face. His hand pushed her hair out of her face again and she felt his fingers linger a little before he pulled back.

She had completely forgotten that they were in a public park and that anyone could see them. She felt a burst of embarrassment go through her but she pushed it back.

"Oh," she said.

"Come on, let's go and get something to eat," Seiichi said and got up from the bench before pulling her up after him.

...

They ended up at the burger place near her school and the one she had been to with Ryoma and Momoshiro a few times, and even An a couple of times.

"It's nice to have this place near your school, isn't it?" Seiichi said.

"Hai, Ryo-chan and Momo-chan certainly think so," Hari snorted.

They ordered and brought their food to a corner booth and since it was so quiet they didn't care that it was one of the largest tables in the place.

Hari was placed when he sat down beside her and not across from her. She enjoyed feeling his warmth beside her and the casual touches with his arm against hers. It didn't matter that she had to turn to look at him when they talked, it was worth it.

"Oh," he said as if he was just remembering something. "I almost forgot."

He pulled up his bag and started to go through it.

"I saw something on my way home yesterday," Seiichi said as he pulled something out of his bag. "My girlfriend is famous."

Hari froze and her eyes widened as she tried to figure out what he meant because he couldn't mean… Did he know? But how could he…

"Have you seen it?" Seiichi asked turning back to her and she fought to hide her wariness and apprehension as she arched a brow.

"Seen what?" she was proud that her voice didn't shake and she sounded normal.

"This," he said and held a magazine out and she blinked.

She felt her shoulders relax as she realised that he was holding up _Gekkan Pro Tennis_ before she tensed again when she recognised herself on the cover. Well, it wasn't just her… Kikumaru and Fuji were there as well, but she was in the centre.

"Nani…" she blinked.

"So you haven't seen it," Seiichi said. "It's an article about Seigaku and you are mentioned quite a bit."

"They wrote about me?" she asked not liking it. "But…why?"

Seiichi chuckled but he did look at her almost worriedly.

"You are a good tennis player, Hari-chan," Seiichi said.

"But…I'm just… me," Hari said and looked at him. "Why would they want to write about me?"

Seiichi reached out and pushed a strand of hair out of her face and smiled softly at her, but his violet-blue eyes did betray the concern he felt as he looked at her.

"You know it's not normal for a girl to play on a boys' team," Seiichi said. "Not many chose to go for the boys' team when the girls' team are there and actually making it as one of the regulars… that's impressive, Hari-chan."

Hari flushed lightly as she listened to him.

"But still," she said looking down at the magazine. "I didn't know they would be writing about me."

"It's not just about you," Seiichi said, "it's about your team, but you are mentioned quite a bit. I was very intrigued to read it."

Hari saw the headlines: _Seigaku – a new challenge for the Trophy?_

She shook her head; she wasn't sure what she felt about this. It was strange to get attention like this for something that didn't have anything to do with Voldemort or her being the Girl-Who-Lived.

"So, my famous girlfriend," Seiichi said in a teasing voice, "will you give me your autograph?"

"No," Hari sniffed.

"Kechi," Seiichi said but his eyes betrayed laugher and Hari mock glared at him and used the magazine to hit him.

He laughed and made to grab for the magazine but she managed to prevent him from taking it. She continued to hit him with it (softly of course) as she felt laughter escape as she did and he managed to grab her wrist and pulled her closer so she fell against him as they both laughed.

"EH?!"

"HARI-CHAN?!"

...

Hari blinked as she pulled back from Seiichi who let her go as he too looked behind them and noticed that they had an audience. She almost cringed as she realised that the entire team was there staring at them.

"Oh, um…" she swallowed and looked at Seiichi who was back to looking calm again. Sometimes she really hated that he could do that. "Hey, guys."

"Hey guys?" Kikumaru repeated. "That's what you have to say, nya?"

"I thought 'hey' was what you were supposed to say in greetings," Hari blinked innocently.

Seiichi's lips twitched as he glanced over at her.

"Hello," he nodded to them. "Echizen-san."

"Yukimura," Ryoma nodded back.

The others looked between them in confusion.

"You know him, Ochibi?" Kikumaru asked.

"I met him yesterday," Ryoma shrugged in that carefree way only he could manage.

Hari sighed and looked at Seiichi.

"I guess the secret is out," she smiled and he nodded as he pushed another of her strand of hair out of her eyes and smiled at her.

"It's not that bad," he said. "They would have figured it out soon anyway."

Hari nodded and looked back at her friends who were staring at them. Kikumaru and Momoshiro were openly gaping, while Inui was writing furiously in his notebook. Fuji had arched a brow and looked like he was thinking about something. Tezuka looked like he had gotten confirmation on something as he didn't look as surprised as the others. Kaido was scowling (but that wasn't anything new), while Oishi and Kawamura both looked shocked.

"Mina, this is my boyfriend, Yukimura Seiichi," Hari introduced, "Sei-chan, this is my team. I don't feel like listing all their names…"

Ryoma snorted as he shook his head at the blunt way Hari did the introduction. She did look rather amused as she took in the surprise and shock as they realised what she had said.

"The boyfriend!" Kikumaru and Momoshiro both exclaimed and pointed at Seiichi who arched a brow.

"Hai?" he asked. "That's me."

Hari felt herself blush lightly at the proud way he confirmed that.

"Finally! We've been trying to figure it out forever," Momoshiro said.

"So I've heard," Seiichi said amused.

Hari shook her head as she looked at her friends. She looked at Seiichi who nodded.

"Do you want to join us?" Hari asked.

"If you are sure?" Kawamura looked a little uncertainly at them and she knew he, at least, didn't want to interrupt them.

"Yeah," Hari nodded and smiled at him.

...

They ended up having to connect another table to the one Hari and Seiichi were using for all of them to fit around the table. Hari sat closer to Seiichi and smiled when he took her hand in his and squeezed it.

"So how did you two meet?" Fuji asked. "I didn't know you knew Yukimura, Hari-chan."

Hari scratched her chin as she glanced at Seiichi who had an amused smile on his face now.

"We met on a bus here in Tokyo," Hari said. "I was on my way to meeting Keigo."

"And you just started to talk?" Momoshiro frowned.

"Well," Seiichi said and Hari sighed. "No, not exactly. She was in her own world and suddenly she said something about boys being complicated."

"Well, you are," Hari huffed.

"I got curious so I asked her why she thought that," Seiichi continued. "That's how we got talking, not that we talked very long and I didn't learn her name before she had to go."

Hari remembered how she had been confused over Saeki and what she felt for him, while she had liked him it was nothing to what she felt for Seiichi. And how fast hadn't that come on? She thought.

"Then how…" Oishi looked between them as he took a bit of his food.

Hari huffed and glared at Seiichi who looked even more amused now.

"I met her again at the train station back in Yokohama," Seiichi said. "I was on my way to Tokyo and waiting on the train when I saw her. She even kicked my bench without sparing me a glance…"

Hari blushed slightly, "I didn't see him, but he deserved it with how amused he looked. Baka."

Seiichi laughed softly.

"You got lost again, didn't you?" Ryoma asked amused. "That's when Okaa-chan and Oyaji told you that you couldn't use the trains by yourself anymore."

"Hai, hai," Hari muttered.

The conversation went easier after this and Hari enjoyed seeing her friends talking with Seiichi, and while she saw some (Kikumaru and Momoshiro) give Seiichi scrutinizing looks most looked to be calm and relaxed as they talked.

"You didn't look that surprised seeing Hari-chan with Yukimura, Tezuka?" Fuji commented when they all had finished eating and was just sitting there chatting and laughing.

Tezuka looked back at Fuji stoically as he looked back at Seiichi and Hari who both had turned their heads to look at him as well having heard Fuji's question. Actually, most of the others had heard and had stopped their conversations curious about what Fuji wanted.

"I wasn't," he said. "I had guessed that she might be dating Yukimura-san."

"How?!"

Tezuka sighed and looked like he didn't really want to talk about this or maybe he just didn't see the point.

"I told him I knew him," Hari said deciding to help her Captain out. "When Kirihara Akaya crashed our practice, remember? Well, I asked Tezuka-Captain to be allowed to leave the practice early so I could take Kirihara-kun back to Sei-chan and the others."

"You knew?!" Kikumaru exclaimed.

"And didn't tell us?!" Momoshiro accused.

"It wasn't any of our business," Tezuka said and gave them a look. "Hari-san is more than capable of looking out for herself. "

Hari smiled slightly feeling grateful that he felt like that.

...

Hari had stepped away in order to go to the bathroom leaving Seiichi alone with her team and friends. Seiichi hid a sigh as he was faced with Kikumaru and Momoshiro.

"Yes?" Seiichi asked.

"Don't hurt Hari-chan or we will deal with you," Kikumaru said folding his arms over his chest.

"Eiji!" Oishi groaned from the back. "Stop threatening people!"

"But, Oishi!" Kikumaru whined. "He is dating our Hari-chan! We can't let him do that without letting him know what would happen if he hurts her!"

"That's right," Momoshiro nodded. "We're just letting him know what the deal is."

Seiichi sighed and glanced at Ryoma who looked to be amused.

"Oyaji yesterday and those two today," he smirked. "Are you regretting it now?"

There was a challenge in those hazel eyes that were locked on him, and Seiichi wasn't blind to it.

"Never," Seiichi said steadily. "Like I told your family yesterday, as long as Hari-chan thinks I'm worth it then I'm here. I hope you will support her and not create difficulties because of this for her because I know she really cares about you all. But I will not let you or anyone stand between me and Hari-chan."

Seiichi was aware that they all stared at him, but he kept calm and just looked back. He was not going to hide what he felt or what he wanted. He would let them know exactly where he was in regards to Hari and then handle it from there.

Ryoma gave him a searching look but he looked more pensive than anything else.

 **"** **Fun of hopes and random dreams,"** Kaido hissed just as Hari came back and shot him an amused glance before looking between Seiichi and the others.

"Okay, what did I miss?" She sighed.

...

 **A few days later – with Hermione and the Weasley-boys'**

...

Hermione sighed as she sat down at the kitchen table of the small place that Bill had borrowed from a wizard he worked with in Egypt. He was from Tokyo and had agreed to let them borrow his place for a little while.

It made it much easier to look for Hari when they had a place like this to stay. Hermione didn't really want to imagine how it would be if they had to rent a hotel room and stay there, and honestly, having this place had made the whole thing much easier when dealing with Mrs Weasley.

" _You want to take the kids with you to Tokyo?" Mrs Weasley asked shrilly while Mr Weasley was looking thoughtfully between his children (minus Ginny and Percy)._

" _Yeah," Charlie nodded. "Bill has to work and that leaves a lot of day time where I'll be by myself. It would be much more fun if they were with us. We could play tourists while Bill worked and he could meet us when he's done."_

" _It's not always long days either," Bill nodded. "Some days it might not be anything at all, but the Goblins still needs me to be in Japan for the work. We would look out for them, mum."_

" _Of course we will," Charlie nodded._

" _But…! They're just kids!" Mrs Weasley protested. "And how will you afford to take them to Tokyo? And living expenses?"_

" _I have a friend from Tokyo," Bill said. "He is in Egypt right now and he said that we could borrow his place. It's safe and it shouldn't cost us much."_

 _Mrs Weasley looked at her husband who was still watching his kids. He took off his glasses and polished them as he clearly thought about what to say._

" _And why the sudden interest in taking them with you?" he asked. "You never have before."_

 _Bill and Charlie had exchanged looks._

" _Well, we thought that it might distract them from their worries about their friend," Charlie said slowly._

 _Mrs Weasley immediately teared up at the mention of Hari and sniffed loudly as she wrung her hands together anxiously._

" _We know they worry about her, but…" Mrs Weasley frowned. "But I'm sure Dumbledore will find her soon and bring her back home."_

" _But they are worried and I fear they might do something stupid if they are just staying here and brooding in their worry," Bill said._

" _Well, Ron and Hermione do have a tendency to get into trouble," Mr Weasley agreed but again there was that shrewd look in his blue eyes._

After that it hadn't been too hard to convince Mrs Weasley but she still wasn't thrilled with them leaving. She had talked with Hermione's parents who had agreed to allow Hermione to travel with them so she couldn't use that as an excuse to keep Ron and the twins' home.

She refused to let Ginny go, though. It didn't matter how much Ginny complained, yelled or slammed the doors. She was not going. Percy wasn't interested, he was so focused on his new job at the Ministry and he was rather pleased getting rid of the twins who were causing chaos and distractions daily.

...

"Any new ideas today, Hermione?" Ron asked through a yawn as he joined her in the kitchen. He still looked tired. "Ah, food…"

She rolled her eyes when he immediately went for the food and started eating. He was soon joined by his brothers and Hermione shook her head at the similarities between them when it came to food. Well, Ron was the worst of them, though.

"Well, we have been checking schools," Hermione said with a sigh. "But it's difficult when we don't know which school she attends if she attends a muggle school at all. I just wish we had a new name."

"You are sure she has changed her name from Potter when she was adopted?" Fred asked.

"Because the name does symbolise her parents," George said.

Hermione sighed. They'd had that conversation several times.

"I don't know," she said, "but I just feel like she would do that because it would make her harder to track down. The name Potter is very famous, even in Japan."

"Hermione is normally right," Ron said in between bites. "You should listen to her."

Hermione rolled her eyes at him but smiled all the same.

"We should…"

"…just go…"

"…out and hopefully…"

"…we'll get lucky and find something," Fred and George said together.

...

"I wished the tracking charms worked," Ron moaned as they walked through yet another street.

"Yes, but somehow that doesn't work," Bill said as he looked at a map as they walked. "I told you that already, Ron. I think someone is blocking her."

"But…who would do that?" Fred asked.

"I don't know," Bill said and motioned for them to cross a street.

The novelty of seeing muggle Tokyo had worn off over the days spent trekking through the streets. Hermione kind of missed the way Ron' and the twins' eyes would light up in awe and curiosity when they saw something new. Bill and Charlie had seen more of the Muggle world before so it wasn't as exciting for them, but they would still get confused at a few things.

They all depended on Hermione when it came to the muggle world and how to navigate it. Luckily they had some help when it came to the language. Hermione knew that had they been normal muggles the language barrier would create a much larger challenge for them. But they were lucky because Bill worked for Gringotts and that meant that he had knowledge of the more complicated and unknown charms. A language charm was one of them because they required it in order for their work with Gringotts when they were all over the world.

Hermione had never even heard of the charm he had used on them, it had been so complicated that she knew that there was no way that they would have been able to do it themselves yet. So, they were lucky that Bill knew it and that someone else could cast in on you. It wasn't like they automatically just learned the language either, it required them to study the new language and the charm helped them to pick it up faster and to transfer the knowledge of the language to you easier.

So, they had been reading language books for days before they left and even after they arrived, and that was why they could make themselves more or less understood while talking with the people here but the more complicated conversation was still left to Bill.

But it helped, and they could understand more now that they had been here for a few days and had used the language. It felt rather strange to just pick up the language knowing it should be more difficult. But Hermione loved to learn and it was really fascinating.

"Did Hari even know Japanese?" Ron asked with a frown. "I don't think she knows the charm Bill cast on us."

"I doubt she knew it," Hermione agreed, "but I don't know if she knows Japanese. I didn't think so, I never heard her talk about knowing the language."

"But she's not at the international school," Ron sighed. "We checked there first."

"They hadn't heard of Hari before," Charlie nodded, "so she's not there."

...

They reached a small shop and they decided to get something to drink since the weather was warm and they had been moving around all day. It was warm and hot so a drink was needed.

Ron and Hermione went in to buy the drinks for them all while the others sat on a small bench outside waiting for them. Hermione walked down the aisles looking for the drinks as she wondered about Hari. Would they have to give up looking for her? She had felt so optimistic and hopeful when they first arrived in Tokyo, just thinking that they were in the same city as Hari. But she had underestimated just how large Tokyo was. It wasn't just to walk out onto the street and randomly running into Hari.

They found the drinks and Hermione also added some cookies knowing that the boys could always eat. Ron lingered a little behind her as she moved toward the counter. She was so tired and she wanted to sleep, but she couldn't. She had to keep searching for Hari. Just how well could that girl hide?

She got in line behind a man in what she thought was a monk outfit. He was somehow looking for money and giggling at the same time and she saw the magazine opened in front of him opened on a girl in a bikini. She looked away just as he made a loud exclamation and said something to the employee behind the counter.

She startled when the man suddenly turned around and grinned when he saw her. He then proceeded to wink at her and gave that creepy giggle again just as Ron walked up behind her.

"Oy! Stay away from her!" Ron demanded hotly making the man smirk at them before he stepped to the side and start to walk toward the door.

"Mada Mada Dane," he said just as he left the store.

Hermione rolled her eyes even as Ron muttered about the man, and placed the drinks and cookies on the counter before her eyes fell on the magazines stacked on a shelf just beside the counter.

She felt her eyes widen as she spotted the familiar face on the front cover of one of the magazines and shoving Ron away she was over by it and had pulled it off the shelf and was staring at it.

"Oy…" Ron muttered as he rubbed the arm she had shoved.

"Ron!" She hissed.

"What?" he frowned at her.

She just showed him the magazine and he gaped before he turned hopeful blue eyes up meeting hers as a matching smile grew on his face.

 **...**

 **...**

 **AN:** **So, what do you think about the chapter? XD**

 **I am a little nervous about how this will be received, to be honest. I have made some changes on what I planned and wanted for the story when it comes to Voldemort. I had originally planned on him being gone for good, but I realised that it wouldn't work while talking with a reviewer. There would be loose ends if I did that, and since the first three years of Hari's schooling is like it is in canon (or almost exactly the same) that means that Voldemort is still out there. So, something must be done. I do have ideas and plans on how I want this to go and I don't plan on changing the tone of the story too much, so the focus will still remain on Hari and her life at Seigaky and relationships with the people around her. :)**  
 **ALSO: THERE WILL BE NO TRI-WIZARD TOURNAMENT. I don't plan on bringing Hari back to participate in that. The Harry Potter World is in AU territory now. XD**

 **And, over to something else; Ron and Hermione are in Tokyo! XD Yay! Finally. They should find her next chapter. Also, about the language charm, I had them use in this story; I know it's the easy way out. I just didn't want to struggle with them not being able to talk to Hari's friends and having to translate and all that. They still aren't fluent in the language yet, but they can be understood. Also, they do have magic so why not have some benefits from it? :) I just made the choice in order to make this easier on myself. I admit it, I'm kind of lazy... Sorry.**

 **Well, the end of a rambling author note. Thank you for reading! Love to hear your thoughts so feel free to leave a review:)**

 **Japanese words used:**  
 **Hai - Yes**  
 **Nani - What**  
 **Gekkan Pro Tennis - Monthly Pro Tennis**  
 **Kechi - stingy**  
 **Mina - Everybody**  
 **Baka - Idiot**  
 **Okaa-chan - Mum**  
 **Oyaji - Old man/ dad**


	36. Found

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Prince of Tennis!**

 **...**

 _"Talking in English!"_

 **...**

 **"Parseltongue!"**

 **...**

 **...**

Hari wasn't sure she felt equally excited now that the practice was over as she had been before it started. While she was happy she was finally been declared healthy and able to practice again she was now so tired and exhausted after a brutal practice that Ryuzaki had pushed them well beyond their limit.

She gasped for breath as she lay on the court like most of the others, all exhausted.

"This is your fault, Ochibi!" Kikumaru whined.

"Hmph," Ryoma scoffed from her left side and Hari felt her lips twitch slightly.

"Well, Ryo-chan did have a point," Hari said. "We will need to beat them at one point, so why not do it right away?"

"Because someone else might beat them before we'd have to and then we wouldn't need to play them," Kikumaru wailed.

"But then you'd face the team that beat Hyotei and that would mean that they also were strong, right?" Hari said. "We're going to be faced with strong opponents anyway, so we should just focus on ourselves."

"That's right," Ryoma agreed.

Ryuzaki listened to them talk and chuckled to herself. Hari and Ryoma sure had a different view on facing strong opponents, but she had a feeling it had a lot to do with Nanjiro and his training with them. She noticed the way the others shot incredulous looks at Hari and Ryoma and it didn't look like they managed to figure them out.

"Saa," Fuji smiled. "That's an interesting take on it."

Hari rolled her eyes as she pushed herself up from the ground and accepted the bottled water from Kachiro with a smile and a thank you making the younger boy smile shyly at her.

"It's just the way it is," Hari shrugged, "we can't change our opponents, so we should just focus on how to get stronger ourselves."

"Hari-san is correct," Tezuka said looking at them and getting some mild glares because he didn't look as tired as the others. "We need to focus on ourselves. We can only beat them if we believe we can."

"Of course we can," Ryoma said.

Hari smiled as she looked at her brother. He looked excited (in his way) at the idea of playing Hyotei. She was sure he was hoping that he would be the one to play against Keigo, and she was a little curious about how that match would go if they ended up playing each other.

She felt excited as well as the idea of playing against Keigo's team. It was a tough team to face but she felt the familiar thrill go through her at the challenge. While the others had been warier and a little more dejected at the thought of facing Hyotei so soon and Hari could understand it in a way. They had lost to them the year before and she was sure it hurt.

But she could also see the determination in their eyes and she was sure they would find the right motivation in order to fight their best.

...

Hari wiped her forehead as she felt her body work hard and her muscles ached slightly as she sat down at the edge of the small edge down to the river. She looked at Kaido and Inui who stood there working on Kaido's boomerang snake.

She felt really impressed with the dedication Kaido showed as he swung the towel back and forth while standing in the middle of the river. She knew it must be much harder than it looked like, she knew towels got really heavy when they got wet.

"Interesting," Ryoga said as he came up behind her and she looked back at him with a smile. "Your friend is good."

"Kaido is very good," Hari nodded. "He'll get it right."

Ryoga nodded, "so I heard you are going to face Hyotei first in the tournament."

"Yes," Hari glanced at her older brother. "We are, but it'll be fun."

"Ryoma looks forward to beating that 'Monkey-King' as he has named Atobe," Ryoga said.

Hari snorted, "and Keigo looks forward to beating Ryoma. I don't know why they are so…competitive."

Ryoga laughed, "that's easy."

"Eh?" Hari looked at him.

"They both are jealous of your relationship with the other," Ryoga said giving her an amused look. "I'm sure you can see that?"

Hari frowned, "but…"

"I know," Ryoga said with a smile.

Hari shook her head as she looked back at Kaido and Inui who was talking now and Kaido was frowning as he looked down at his own wrist. She hoped he would manage it soon, but it had only been a day so she was sure he would need a little more time.

"Have you practised with your friends now?" Ryoga asked also looking back at Kaido and Inui.

"I went on a run with Ka-chan," Hari said. "He's brutal."

Ryoga laughed, "be sure that you don't overdo it now that you are allowed to practice again, Hari-chan. It wouldn't be good if you get a relapse."

"I'm fine," Hari said. "I don't feel anything from the injury, so I'm sure I'm completely healed."

He glanced at her but he didn't say anything else.

Hari got up and made her way down to the river and closer to Kaido and Inui who both looked at her.

"Looking good, Ka-chan," Hari smiled. "Inui-sempai seems to know how to help you."

 **"** **The print effects the dizzy driving,"** Kaido hissed making Hari smile.

"Thank you for the run, but I have to get home," Hari said. "Ryoga-nii is here so I'll walk home with him."

"Okay," Kaido said.

Hari waved at them before she jogged back up to Ryoga who was waiting for her. She smiled when he put an arm around her shoulder as they started to walk back home.

"You're staying here, right?" Hari asked after a moment. "You're not going back to the States?"

"Nah, I'm staying," Ryoga smiled.

"Good," Hari said. "I hoped you would."

"You did?" Ryoga glanced down at her. "Well, I'm glad you did."

...

The next day she felt the classes went incredibly slow as she waited for the practice to start. She looked over at Momoshiro and Kaido and saw that they felt the same if the squirming in their seats was any indicator.

"Finally," Momoshiro said as they were dismissed and on their way out of the classroom. Hari waved to Sora and Hira who was used to her going off to practice after class. "I thought the class never was going to end!"

"Me too," Hari agreed. "You think coach will push us over the edge today as well?"

 **"** **The expert refines the desire,"** Kaido hissed. "Yeah."

Hari nodded, "that was what I thought."

"You're feeling alright, right?" Momoshiro suddenly looked worriedly at her. "The…injury, you're good, right?"

Hari smiled at him and patted his arm reassuringly.

"I'm fine," she said. "Promise. The doctor said I was good to go and didn't say anything about having to watch out when I practice."

Momoshiro nodded but still looked worried. Hari felt a little bad about having caused him to worry about her like this. Kaido glanced at her as well and she saw the worry in his dark eyes but he didn't say anything.

They reached the courts and after having changed quickly met the rest of the team for a meeting before practice. Ryuzaki and Tezuka were talking quietly together over by the large whiteboard.

Hari blinked when she felt arms being thrown around her neck and suddenly found herself hugged tightly.

"Hari-chan!" Kikumaru's voice sounded in her ear and she winced slightly.

"Kikumaru-sempai," Hari muttered and pushed at him. "I don't fancy going deaf, you know."

Kikumaru just laughed and adjusted his hold and somehow he ended up behind her and leaning over her shoulders and kind of hugging her from behind. Hari just sighed knowing she couldn't really do anything when he was in this mood.

"Have you talked to your boyfriend today?" Kikumaru asked a teasing grin on his face.

"No," Hari said as she moved toward the whiteboard with the others even if it was awkward with Kikumaru hanging off her as he did. "Not yet."

"Does he treat you alright?" Kikumaru asked. "If not you come and talk to me and I'll protect you, nya!"

Hari sighed and rolled her eyes at the other boy. "Sure, sure."

"Seriously, Eiji," Oishi sighed as he looked at Kikumaru and Hari. "Stop hanging off Hari-chan like that!"

"No, I don't want to," Kikumaru stuck his tongue out at Oishi as he held on tighter to Hari.

Hari sighed but glared at Ryoma and Momoshiro who was laughing at her.

"You're just adorable when you glare, Hari-chan," Momoshiro laughed and ruffled her hair making her glare deeper.

"Shut up," Hari pouted.

...

Hermione felt impatient.

She had never felt this impatient before in her life. Not even when she waited for her first day at Hogwarts and couldn't wait until she was there and would be able to start learning more magic. But it was nothing to how she felt right now.

They had found Hari in the magazine the day before but it had been too late to find her at the school when they got there the school day was over and they couldn't find anyone there. That was why they had to wait.

But now they had arrived while the school day was still going on and waited until it looked like they were finished, and now they could see students starting to leave the school.

"Do you see her?" Ron asked tiptoeing as he looked around his eyes scanning the students.

"No," Hermione said as she too looked at a group of girls chatting as they left the school. "I don't."

"She has…"

"…to be here…"

"…somewhere," Fred and George said as they stared.

Bill and Charlie were calmer as they watched and failed to see anyone looking like Hari Potter. They kept an eye on their siblings and Hermione as well because they knew it would be a huge disappointment if they failed to find Hari today as well.

"Maybe she's still inside?" Ron asked.

"Let's go and check," Fred said and started to move before waiting for a reply. The others followed without hesitating.

They walked up toward the building and Ron couldn't help but feel that it looked strange for a school. It was nothing like Hogwarts.

"Excuse me," Hermione's voice suddenly sounded and Ron turned to look at her. The others also stopped as they heard Hermione speak.

"Yes?" A boy with half-long brown hair asked. A girl with long brown hair that was pulled back in a ponytail was standing next to him looking at them curiously.

"Um, I was wondering if you would know where we can find Echizen Hari?" Hermione said feeling a little strange saying the new name they had discovered Hari using.

The boy and girl both arched a brow at the same time as they stared at Hermione with a strange look in their eyes.

"You're looking for Hari-chan?" the girl asked. "Why?"

Hermione felt a rush of hope because she talked like she knew Hari. Was it possible that they actually were lucky enough to actually talk to someone who knew her?

"We're friends of hers from England," Hermione said rushing the words a little and she was sure she messed up the grammar a little if the confused looks on their faces were anything to go by before it cleared and understanding filtered through. "We just don't know where to meet her; this is her school, right?"

The girl looked at the boy who looked a little more suspicious.

"Hari-chan didn't say anything about getting visitors," the boy said.

"No, she didn't," the girl said but she looked more curious than suspicious.

"We're surprising her," George smiled charmingly.

"Hm," the boy said.

"Hira, come on," the girl said.

"Fine," he said. "Hari-chan is at her tennis practice."

"And where is that?" Ron asked barely keeping his impatience back.

"Follow the path there," he pointed to the left and they saw a path leading around the school. "You should walk straight to the courts that way and you'll probably hear them before you see them."

The girl chuckled and nodded.

"Thank you," Hermione said and the boy and girl left.

...

"Who do you think they are to Hari?" Ron glanced after the two who had helped them.

"I don't know," Hermione shrugged. "But right now, I don't care. Come on. She's close."

Ron nodded and they started to walk down the path the boy had pointed to. Hermione couldn't believe that they were this close. She almost burst over with nerves and anticipation. She couldn't even think of the possibility of them being wrong, but they weren't. It had been Hari, their Hari, in that picture and it clearly said that her name was Echizen Hari and a student at Seigaku Middle School.

They rounded another curve in the path as they heard voices and laughter coming from up ahead and soon they saw what Hermione guessed were the courts. There was a wire fence stretching around several courts and she saw a group of people, students she guessed, inside one of the courts.

"She must be there," Ron whispered next to her and she knew he was just as excited as she was.

"Yeah," Hermione nodded.

Fred and George glanced at each other and then at Ron and Hermione, and for once they didn't say anything as they walked close to the courts. They both looked forward, hoped, to see Hari again as well. They had worried about the younger girl since she had been suspended despite not knowing just why she was being blamed for helping Sirius Black escape.

They reached the opening to the court and paused as they took in the group standing in front of a whiteboard and a teacher, or perhaps coach, was standing there in a pink tracksuit.

Hermione gasped spotting Hari first. Her gasp made Ron and his brothers look at her before following her eyes to see Hari being hugged/ leaned on by a boy with red hair, and it looked like she was resigned to be in that position while another boy with dark hair reached out to ruffle her hair making her pout.

Hermione wasn't sure what to think seeing Hari there. She was _there_ , right in front of them, and she looked so comfortable and was even smiling now when the boy with the white cap said something. Hermione had been so worried, so scared, and seeing Hari… it overwhelmed her.

"She's here," Hermione whispered.

Ron was going through much of the same as Hermione, relief seeing Hari and seeing her safe, the worry he had felt melted away slightly, but he also felt a little jealous seeing how she was being hugged or leaned on by the redheaded boy, his hair a darker red than his or any of the Weasley's. Ron knew he shouldn't feel jealous, but it rose up inside of him faster than he could push it back.

"Oi! Who are you?!" A loud voice demanded, making Hermione and Ron jump while Fred and George turned to look at a younger looking boy with a unibrow staring at them, he was standing in front of two other boys who seemed to be the same age. "Are you spies?!"

"Um, they look foreign," one of the boys whispered to the 'leader'.

The noise caught the attention of the others and Hermione turned to look back at the group and her eyes found Hari again immediately. Hari was staring at them wide eyes and her mouth opened in shock.

What made Hermione pause was the fear she saw in Hari's eyes, but why would Hari feel scared seeing them?

...

Hari heard the exclamation from Horio and looked toward the gates expecting to see someone from one of the other schools standing there, but what she saw made her freeze in place. Her mouth popped open as her mind went blank, uncomprehending.

Hari didn't know how long she stood there unmoving and unable to think, it could be hours or it could be seconds (it were) before her mind turned back on and her mind started to spin. Because in front of her stood people she had given up on seeing again in a long time (if ever). Hermione and Ron were at the front but she saw Fred and George right behind them, and two boys with the same ginger hair as Ron and his brothers so she guessed they also were Weasley's but her mind wouldn't go any further on that.

What were they doing there?

Was she really seeing them or was she hallucinating? It would be probable, but Horio had talked to them so that meant that it couldn't be a hallucination. But how could they be there?

How had they found her?

"Hari?!" Hermione's voice called and she was moving.

Hari wasn't sure what she was doing but suddenly she found herself moving toward Hermione as well, unable to stop herself. She wasn't sure when Kikumaru had let go of her.

"Hari!"

Hari found herself squeezed in a tight hug and Hermione's uncomprehensive blabbing in her ear, but Hari didn't really care as she hugged her back and then another pair of strong arms circled them both and she knew Ron had joined their hug.

"… _how could you hide so well? Do you have any idea how worried we've been? Do you even think about that? Do you have any idea what we have had to do in order to find you? How much Dumbledore has asked us for where you are? We haven't told him or anyone, alright?"_

Hari suddenly heard Hermione's rant as she continued to hug her and it felt so familiar that she had to chuckle even if it sounded a little wet.

" _Shh, Hermione,"_ Ron said. " _You're overwhelming her."_

Hermione huffed but she pulled back a little as she smiled at Hari who smiled back.

" _You…"_ Hari started but stopped.

" _Don't hog her!"_ Fred interrupted them and suddenly Hari found herself being hugged once more and twirled around making her laugh despite herself.

" _Oi! It's my turn!"_ George whined and pulled at his brother. " _Give her up! Fred!"_

" _No! She's mine!"_ Fred said.

" _It's my turn! She's mine!"_ George cried and pulled at Hari until Fred let her go and she found herself in George's arms. He hugged her tightly and unlike his brother, he didn't twirl her around but seemingly tried to squeeze her to death.

"Mmph," she mumbled against his chest.

Hari was not sure what to think as she tried to understand just what was going on.

"Um…"Hari heard Momoshiro say and he sounded confused. She could easily picture his face even without turning to look at him.

" _Maybe you should calm down,"_ one of the other redheads said.

...

George let her go and Hari stepped back and looked over her friends her eyes still wide in shock and unbelieving.

"Hari-chan?" Ryuzaki spoke up and Hari turned to look at the coach who looked curious but also a little impatient. They did have the practice to get to.

"Um, sorry," Hari said. "I really didn't know they were coming."

"Who are they?" Ryuzaki asked.

"My friends from England," Hari said and glanced over at them again.

"I'm sorry," one of the two Hari didn't know who was said. "I'm Bill Weasley; we see that we are interrupting something. My younger brothers and their friend were just so eager to see Hari again and we didn't stop to think that we were interrupting your practice."

So that was Bill, then the other one must be Charlie. Hari glanced at him curiously for a moment before looking back at Ryuzaki who nodded and smiled politely at Bill.

"That's understandable," Ryuzaki said and looked at Hari. "If you want to talk to your friends, I will allow you to skip practice."

Hari frowned and bit down at her lip as she glanced at her friends and saw their hopeful looks and then at her team who was looking curious. They did have the tournament coming up and she didn't want to put herself in a position to not be able to play or hinder the team.

"Um," she frowned. " _I…Guys, could you wait until we've finished practice? We have a tournament coming up and I'd rather not miss the training."_

Hermione and Ron exchanged looks before they looked back at Hari.

" _Sure,"_ Hermione said. "Would it be possible for us to watch you?"

Hari looked at Ryuzaki who nodded.

"Of course," she smiled.

...

As Hari went back to practice she felt the others watching her but her mind still couldn't really process that her friends from Hogwarts were there and had found her. Just how had they found her? If they found her this easily…then maybe she wasn't well enough hidden? If…if Voldemort really was out there looking for her did that mean that he would find her just as easily? And would they tell Dumbledore? They hadn't yet, or so they said… but what if…

Her mind spun with questions even as she lined up to do the warm up next to Ryoma who glanced at her with a concerned look. She gave him a smile to let him know she was okay but he still looked worried.

It wasn't like she didn't want to see them, she had missed them but… she wasn't sure what she felt as her eyes drifted over to where they were standing just outside the fence watching her. She could see them talking a little and the twins seemed to laugh at something. Why had they come all the way here? What did their parents think? Were they here?

She almost wished she had said yes to skip the practice but she needed the distraction as well because she wasn't sure she was ready to actually talk to them. It sounded cold and unreasonable, but it was the truth. She was…scared.

But since they were here that must mean that they wanted to see her? Right?

"You okay, Hari-chan?" Fuji asked as he came up beside her.

"I'm fine," she said automatically.

He looked at her for a moment before he nodded and seemed to accept that she wouldn't say anything else.

"Okay, I want Oishi and Kikumaru over here," Ryuzaki said, "along with Hari-chan and Fuji."

Hari walked over and looked at the older woman curiously.

"I want you to play doubles against each other," Ryuzaki said. "First I want the original pairings with Kikumaru and Oishi against Fuji and Hari, but then I want you to change and have Hari and Kikumaru against Oishi and Fuji. Got it?"

Hari nodded and so did the others.

She then moved to talk to the rest of the team and divide assignments for the practice.

...

Hermione was a little disappointed that Hari had decided to stay at practice and not skip it like her coach said she could, but if they had a tournament she guessed it was understandable.

"She should have skipped it," Ron muttered next to her.

"She wants to do well at the tournament," Hermione said not looking away from Hari.

"Still, we're here and she doesn't even want to talk to us?" Ron asked.

Hermione glanced at him and saw the frown on his face as he watched Hari with his arms folded over his chest.

"She's probably still surprised to see us," Hermione said. "If this gives her time to get used to the idea then it's good. We found her and we have time to talk to her after."

"We did interrupt her practice," Bill spoke up looking at her little brother. "She does have responsibilities so we just have to wait."

"Yeah, I know," Ron muttered.

Fred and George seemingly ignored them as they watched the tennis practice and Hari who stepped up with one of the boys to play against two other boys. They were curious about the sport, they had never seen it before and they wondered just what it was about.

"Huh," George said. "It's almost as if only beaters were playing…"

"Yeah, but they don't try to hit the ball at the other person," Fred said with a frown. "What's the fun in that?"

"Shouldn't they try to hit each other?" George wondered.

"No," Hermione chuckled before she explained tennis for them.

"Hmm," George frowned. "I still think beaters are better."

"Me too," Fred said, "this must be much more boring, but Hari seems to think it's fun."

Hermione watched Hari who seemed to have relaxed slightly now and was smiling slightly as she just returned a ball back over the net. She watched as Hari and the boy she was on a team with high-fived.

As they watched Hari practice Hermione noticed how much of a part of the team Hari seemed, and she seemed to get along with all of the boys there.

...

Hari noticed that her friends had moved toward the gates of the court when Ryuzaki ended the practice and Hari inhaled deeply calming down as she knew she couldn't postpone talking to them anymore. She started to walk over to them knowing that Ryoma was right behind her and probably most of her team as well since they had to go that way to get to the locker room.

"You're done?" Ron asked.

"Yeah," Hari smiled slightly. "Sorry to keep you waiting."

"No problem," Hermione smiled.

"It was…"

"…fun to watch…"

"…you play tennis," the twins said making Hari realise just how much she had missed their way of talking.

Hari chuckled before she paused, "wait… you're talking in Japanese…"

How could she not have noticed that before now? Had she gotten so used to hearing Japanese that she didn't even register it anymore? Or maybe she just was so shocked that it didn't filter through…

"We've learned," Hermione said and Hari blinked confused but there was something in her eyes that said that it was not the whole story but since it was a possibility of magic being involved Hari stopped herself from asking more.

"Hari," Ryoma said.

Hari turned and looked at Ryoma and saw him look behind her and probably look at her friends.

"Ryo-chan," Hari said. "Meet my friends, Hermione Granger, Ron, Fred, George Weasley, and who I guess are their brothers Bill and Charlie Weasley."

She saw Bill and Charlie's lips twitch as they nodded.

"And guys, meet my little brother, Echizen Ryoma," Hari said and looked nervously at her friends.

They didn't look very surprised but she saw a new interest in their eyes. So they knew she had been adopted? Or about Ryoma?

"Nice to meet you," Ryoma nodded to them.

"You too," Hermione said and the others nodded or repeated the greeting.

Hari knew that Momoshiro or Kikumaru's curiosity would soon win over whatever restraint they were currently showing. And right now she didn't really want to answer questions, especially since she had so many herself.

"Let me change and we'll go somewhere to catch up," Hari said.

"Sure," Hermione said and Ron nodded.

...

Hari changed and got ready as fast as she could before leaving the locker room that was hers, she saw Hermione and Ron talking together a few feet away with the twins and two older Weasley behind them.

"When are you coming home?" Ryoma asked startling her.

"Um, I don't know," Hari said glancing at him.

"Oyaji and Okaa-chan will wonder where you are," Ryoma said. "Do you want me to tell them?"

"I probably should," Hari said and rubbed the back of her neck.

"You don't look happy to see them right now," Ryoma frowned. "If you don't…"

"No, I'm happy," Hari interrupted him knowing where he was going with what he started to say, "I just… I am a little worried, but I'll figure it out. I've missed them."

Ryoma frowned a little as he nodded, "okay."

Hari ruffled his hair making him scowl at her before she walked over to her friends leaving him behind her. She saw the looks she got from her friends but they didn't comment.

"Come on," she said. "Let's get going."

She smiled when Hermione linked their arms together and it almost felt like the times they walked through the halls of Hogwarts like this.

"See you tomorrow, Hari-chan!" Kikumaru yelled as he walked out the gates of the school with Oishi. "Maybe we'll get to be on the same team again!"

"Sure," Hari waved. "See you."

She suddenly stilled as she realised that she had forgotten something.

"Oh," she said.

"What?" Hermione asked.

"I forgot," Hari said and looked around. How could she forget?

"Forgot what?" Ron asked.

"I had plans…" she said distractedly before she smiled spotting Kaido. "Ka-chan!"

Kaido paused from where he was walking in front of them and turned around to look at her, he was scowling but that was normal.

"Hari-chan?" Kaido looked at her curiously.

She and the others reached him and she saw him glance at them before looking back at her.

"I'm sorry," Hari said. "I forgot that we had plans to train together…"

 **"** **The answer reviews the middle,"** he hissed before he nodded. "I understand."

"I didn't mean to forget, Ka-chan," Hari felt really bad about it. "Are Inui-sempai coming?"

Kaido nodded, "he said he would. And I'm not mad at you, Hari-chan. I thought you would be busy with your guests. We'll train another time."

Hari smiled and nodded. While he looked a little scary Kaido had a soft heart. She knew that the best.

"Good," she said. "Okay, well, I'll see you tomorrow."

He nodded and with a nod to the others he turned and started to walk away again.

..

They ended up at the riverbank where she often found herself when she needed to think. It was where she had met Ryoga the first time after her and Ryoma's fight. That made her think of Ryoga and she wondered if he was home or if he was out looking for work or whatever it was he was doing when he was away from the house.

"I still can't believe you're here," Hari said turning to her friends. "Oh, and, um, hey?"

She looked at Bill and Charlie.

"Guess you know who I am since you're here," Hari said smiling a little sheepishly as she waved at them, "but, I'm Hari."

"Hari Potter," Charlie grinned. "I think we've heard the name a couple of times before."

Bill snorted.

"Not a Potter anymore," Hari shrugged. "It's Echizen now."

"Why change the name?" Ron asked.

Hari shrugged again as she looked away from them.

"Guess I wanted the change," she said vaguely.

Hermione frowned slightly but for the first time found it difficult to ask questions. She normally asked whatever was on her mind, she was curious and had a need to know everything. It was both a positive thing and a flaw. But now watching Hari who had been away from them for months she was hit with an uncertainty that was not familiar to her. Not when it came to Hari.

"Ask," Hari looked over at her.

"Eh?"

"Ask your questions," Hari said and smiled a little. "It's not normal for you to hold back."

Hermione smiled and wondered if their Hari still was in there as well.

"Why did you leave?" Hermione asked. "Why not come back? What happened, Hari? I… I know it was unfair that you got blamed and the only one to be suspended, but… Why leave like that? And who is Ryoma? You called him your brother?"

"Breath, Hermione," Hari said. "I can't answer if you don't let me talk, you know."

Hermione smiled a little sheepishly.

Hari looked at Ron and the twins and saw the curiosity in their eyes as well and knew that they had probably discussed this among themselves plenty of times and was wondering the same thing. She knew they deserved an explanation, especially if they were here because they really missed her.

"I don't know how to answer," Hari finally said. "I just…couldn't be there anymore. I had to get away. But I have questions as well… why did you look for me? I thought… I thought you didn't want anything to do with me. You didn't write. And how did you find me?"

Hari looked between them unable to keep the vulnerability out of her eyes even as she tried.

"I think that this might not be the place for the conversation you need to have," Bill spoke up looking a little concerned.

He and Charlie had stepped back mostly beside introductions. So had the twins, they had remained uncharacteristically quiet.

Hari knew he was right and deliberated for a moment.

"You could come home with me," she said. "And meet my family. We could talk more there."

Fred and George nodded, "do they know about magic?"

Hari nodded.

"Okay," Ron frowned a little but she wasn't sure what he was thinking.

...

Ron looked at the house that Hari led them to. It was very different from the Burrow, but he guessed it looked nice anyway. He noticed that it didn't look as picture perfect like Privet Drive had looked, he remembered thinking that it looked too clean and perfect even if he only had seen it at night when he and the twins had gone to rescue Hari from her relatives. But this house looked lived in, he could see a bike leaned up against the wall and a tennis racket was lying on the ground while some tennis balls also were strewn around.

Hari glanced at them and he noticed that she still looked like she struggled to really believe that they were there. He didn't like that, he didn't like how she looked like she fitted in at her new school… he tried to push the feeling away, but it was nagging at him. Refusing to let him go, and he knew that he had to.

"Tadaima!" Hari called as she stepped through the door and holding it open for them to follow her inside. He saw a staircase to the right leading up to the upper floor while a couple of doorways led into other rooms from the rather spacious hallway. Again it was unlike the Burrow where you entered directly into the kitchen.

"Okaeri, Hari-chan," he heard a woman's voice answer from one of the room. He wasn't sure where exactly but he saw the content smile on Hari's face and wondered if he had ever seen her smile like that before.

He was surprised that the twins had been quiet for so long and saw them looking around curiously as well and wondered what they were thinking. He knew they cared about Hari, but they were never this quiet…

Hermione looked nervous and excited and worried at the same time as she kept glancing at Hari. Ron knew how she felt. But he also knew that she wouldn't be able to wait much longer before she got answers and the little Hari had said hadn't exactly been reassuring. It worried him and he knew it worried Hermione as well.

Before he could ask anything or say something to Hari a boy who looked to be a few years older than they entered the hallway from one of the doors and Ron thought he looked like Ryoma who they had met at the school. The teen stopped when he spotted them and Ron caught the slightly suspicious look before a smirk took its place and he looked at Hari.

"Are you trying to give Oyaji a heart attack, Hari-chan?" he asked before his eyes travelled over Ron and his brothers before he paused at Hermione. "Well, hello."

Ron scowled when he saw the attention this boy gave Hermione who blinked at him but didn't really say anything but glanced at Hari who sighed.

"Of course I'm not," Hari said rolling her eyes. "They're my friends from England. They…turned up for a surprise visit."

Ron noticed the hesitation and was sure the other boy also did because he gave her a searching look before he turned back to them and smiled.

"Well, I'm Echizen Ryoga," he introduced himself. "I'm her older brother, so I guess it's nice to meet you."

Ron fisted his hands. Another one who introduced himself as her brother…

"Nice to meet you," Hermione spoke up quietly. "I'm Hermione Granger, and I'm Hari's friend."

"Best friend," Hari grinned but there were some nerves still visible in her green eyes as she looked at Hermione and then Ron and Ron didn't like it. "Or one of my best friends. Ron Weasley is the other."

Hari looked at Ron and he smiled unable to stop it when she claimed him as her best friend, and he felt something settle inside him. He may still have a place in her life…

Ron nodded shortly and muttered, "nice to meet you."

Ryoga gave him a curious look before nodding. Ron studied him, he wasn't sure what to think about the older boy and he barely paid attention as Hari introduced the others to Ryoga.

"But I'm sure you are trying to push Oyaji into a heart attack," Ryoga turned his attention back to Hari. "Showing up with boys, again. He's still recovering from the last one."

"Shut up, Ryoga-nii," Hari said and Ron was sure he wasn't the only one who heard the exasperation in her voice.

...

They moved into the living room and Hari felt nervous and excited at once, the fact that they were there was starting to really set in. The thought of introducing her family to her Hogwarts friends made her smile. When Ron had introduced her for his mum after their first year at Hogwarts Hari had wished she could do that. She had daydreamt about how it would be if her mum and dad had still been alive, and she could introduce her friends for them. And when she had spent the last part of the summer between her first and second year with the Weasley's at the Burrow she had once more been hit with the empty feeling knowing that she never would be able to bring them home with her.

And now… they were here at her home…and about to meet the two people who had become her parents. They had already met Ryoma and Ryoga.

"Oh, you have brought guests with you, Hari-chan," Rinko spoke up as she entered the living room from the kitchen.

"Guests?" Nanjiro's voice asked having picked up the word as he entered the house and was now in the doorway from the hall. He immediately scowled when he noticed the boys. "More boys? Who are you and what do you want?"

"Nanjiro," Rinko sighed and shot him a glare. "Be polite."

"But…but…there are more boys around my little girl!" Nanjiro whined but still glared. "It's bad enough with that…that boy and not to mention all those on her team! But more? No!"

Hermione wasn't sure what to think about the man who had just entered the room. He was wearing a monk outfit and she was sure she had seen him before… That's right! She had. The day before at the store. He was the man who had been in front of them in the line!

"Oi! It's you," Ron blurted out making the man and Hari look at him.

"Ron?" Hari frowned. "You've met him before?"

"Not exactly," Hermione said as Ron was scowling at the older man now. "He was in line in front of us at the store yesterday… he was buying a magazine…"

"And he was giving Hermione looks," Ron grumbled.

The twins and Bill and Charlie arched a brow as they looked at Nanjiro who looked confused as he looked at Hermione like he was trying to remember if he had seen her.

The twins and Bill and Charlie arched a brow as they looked at Nanjiro who looked confused as he looked at Hermione like he was trying to remember if he had seen her.

"Can't remember that," Nanjiro said.

"Seriously," Hari grumbled as she marched over to him and poked his chest hard.

"Oi! Watch it!" Nanjiro exclaimed rubbing his chest as he tried to stop her.

"Stop behaving like a child," Hari grumbled at him. "I can't bring anyone here without you making a fuss."

"But, Hari-chan," Nanjiro whined and hugged her, "they're boys…"

"I'm aware," Hari deadpanned as she freed herself from his arms and turned to glare at Ryoga who was laughing and looking thoroughly amused. "And stop laughing, baka!"

"Oh, I wondered what the noises was," Ryoma said from the doorway.

Hari rubbed her eyes tiredly. This really wasn't what she needed.

"Nanjiro," Rinko stepped in and gave her husband a look that made him shut up and stop glaring (almost). "Stop acting like a fool. Hari-chan is allowed to bring friends over and you'll behave."

"But…"

"No buts," Rinko said sternly before turning to the guests. "I'm so sorry about him."

"He's not trained yet," Ryoma spoke up making Ryoga laugh while Nanjiro glared at his son.

"Brat," Nanjiro muttered.

"Boys," Rinko warned making them quiet down. "Now, where was I? Oh, right; I'm sorry about them. You said you're Hari-chan's friends?"

...

"Yes, ma'am," Hermione nodded the first to find her voice again after the scene that had transpired in front of them. "We're her friends from Hogwarts."

"Her school in Scotland?" Rinko asked glancing at Hari who nodded.

"Yeah," Hari nodded and did the introduction (again). "I still don't know how they found me."

"We wanted to find you since you left," Hermione said looking at Hari. "We sent you letters but they returned unopened. We weren't sure if they did that because they didn't reach you or if it was because you returned them unopened. I mean, you did get blamed when we should have been as well… and we weren't sure if you blamed us and was angry."

Hari looked at Hermione and saw the way she wrung her hands together and her words came out fast and in slightly stilted Japanese but Hari understood what she meant.

"I never got the letters," Hari said quietly as she thought. They had tried to write to her? Relief hit her hard and she felt a weight lift from her shoulders, a weight she wasn't even aware she was carrying around with her. They had tried to contact her!

"We asked Professor Flitwick," Ron spoke up looking a Hari and stopping scowling at the man they now knew were Hari's adopted father, "about reasons why that would happen…"

"You told him?" Hari frowned a little worried.

"We made it look like Hermione was doing some research for an essay," Ron said quickly and shared a smile with Hari. Oh, yeah, that always worked when they needed to get some extra information. None of the professors doubted Hermione's need for information. "Well, he said it could happen if there were wards around the house. Wards that prevented owls from flying through them."

"Those are restricted," Bill frowned. "There are laws about where and how they are to be used."

Hari glanced at him as she nodded thoughtfully.

"I see," she said. "He does it again."

"Hari?" George asked confused. "Who does what again?"

Hari looked at Ryoma and saw him frowning and she knew he was thinking the same as her. She looked back at her friends.

"Dumbledore," Hari said her hands clenched at her side. "He made aunt Petunia hide Ryo-chan's letters from me; I never got a letter until one day after I was sent back to the Dursley's after being suspended. I got the mail and a letter was there. That's when I knew that Ryo-chan hadn't forgotten me as I thought…"

"Why would he do that?" Charlie asked frowning. While he knew the reasons Ron and Hermione didn't want to tell Dumbledore that they had found Hari, he still had trouble accepting that Dumbledore would do what they said and it looked like they didn't know it all. He was also starting to wonder if Ron and Hermione had even told them everything. They probably hadn't.

"He didn't want me to have friends outside of Hogwarts," Hari scoffed angrily. "Friends he couldn't keep an eye on, friends he couldn't use to push me into doing what he wanted. He couldn't have me being influenced by anything or anyone that he couldn't get to."

 **...**

 **...**

 **AN:** **What do you think? XD**

 **Hermione and the Weasley found Hari! Hope you liked it!**  
 **I don't plan on bashing anyone, just so you know. There will be insecurities and things to work out between them again. Like where they belong in the new life Hari has built for herself, and Hari has to work out how her old friends fit in in her new life. :)**

 **Thank you for reading and supporting the story! XD**

 **Japanese words used:**  
 **Saa - filler**  
 **Oyaji - Old man/ dad**  
 **Okaa-chan - mum**  
 **Tadaima - I'm home**  
 **Okaeri - Welcome home**  
 **Baka - Idiot**


	37. Catching up

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Prince of Tennis!**

 **...**

 **"Parseltongue!"**

 **...**

 **...**

Hari was not sure if she was grateful or not for Rinko getting her family to leave the living room giving Hari time with her friends on her own. It was needed, but she couldn't help the nerves she felt under her skin and made her shift on her feet. But she felt hopeful and excited as well because it started to sink in, that her friends really were there. A look at Hermione and Ron made her believe that she wasn't the only one feeling it. The same hope, nervousness and trepidation were clear in their eyes as well.

"So, I guess we should talk," Hari said. "Why don't you sit?"

They all found a seat and Hari ended up between Ron and Hermione at the couch. She smiled slightly at them and received small smiles back. She really wasn't sure when it had become this awkward and tense between them.

"I don't even know where to start," Hari admitted.

"Me neither," Hermione nodded in agreement, "I've thought about finding you a lot but not really on what followed."

"Hermione lost for words," Ron said. "Who would have thought? Ouch!"

Hermione reached over and punched his arm.

"You should know better, Ron," Hari chuckled but her shoulders relaxed slightly.

Ron muttered something under his breath as he rubbed his arm. Hermione huffed and glared at him and the twins snickering was heard in the background.

"You looked like you had fun at your practice today," Hermione said.

Hari glanced at her and nodded, "yeah. It was fun. Though, Ryuzaki-sensei is trying to kill us. She pushes us really hard, but that's because we have a tournament coming up."

"What kind of tournament?" Charlie asked. "Is it like the Quidditch cup at Hogwarts?"

"Not really," Hari furrowed her brows a little. "The tournament is the Kanto Regional Tournament, it's the best teams from the Kanto Region that is competing against each other. So we play against other schools and try to reach the finals."

"So not just teams from your own school," Bill said.

"No," Hari said. "And if we make it to the Nationals later in the year we'll play teams from all over the country."

"When is it?" Charlie asked. "The Kanto Tournament, I mean."

"In two days," Hari said.

"Then we'll be here and can see you play," Fred said.

Hari smiled, "I'm not sure if I'll actually get to play, but it will be fun if you're there to watch."

She hadn't really thought about that before now, but they would be there to see her play (if Ryuzaki told her to play), and a thrill went through her.

"You look to be important to your team," Hermione said and pulled out something from her bag. "We saw this article and you were mentioned quite a bit."

Hari blinked. "You saw that?"

"That's how we knew you were at Seigaku," Ron said. "Found it yesterday, but it was too late to get to the school then so we had to wait until today."

Hari blinked. "Oh."

That magazine was proving to be a risk, but she really couldn't control what they wrote… Her brows furrowed.

"But how did you even know to look for me here in the first place?" Hari asked looking up at them.

Hermione smiled and started to explain how she had asked her father for help and Hari had to give it to her for thinking to do that. But then again, Hermione was raised in the muggle world and therefore would be more likely to think outside of magical means of finding someone.

"So, your parents know where I am?" Hari asked despite it being obvious when Hermione finished.

"Yeah, but they won't tell anyone," Hermione said looking at Hari. "Dad was…upset. He wouldn't tell me everything, just that you had left and that a Japanese couple had adopted you…"

Hari kept her face blank but she was sure she knew why Mr Granger had been upset. He must have talked to her aunt and uncle and, well, they weren't exactly afraid to let others know what they thought about her. Who knew what he had learned about her now… It worried her a little but it seemed like Mr Granger had at least kept it to himself.

Ron then went on to tell her about how they had managed to get Mr and Mrs Weasley to agree to allow them to leave and how they had decided to ask Bill and Charlie for help. Hari glanced at the older Weasley brothers as Ron talked (and Hermione adding somethings when Ron skipped a step) and wondered why they would agree to help when they hadn't even met her before. It didn't make sense to her.

"Wow," Hari said quietly when Ron finished. "I…um… Thank you."

"What about you, Hari?" Hermione asked. "Why did you decide to leave and resign from Hogwarts? And… you haven't talked about Echizen Ryoma before."

Hari sighed as she considered what to say. But thinking about what they had done to find her and knowing that they had tried to write to her was enough to convince her that they deserved answers, but it wasn't easy to talk about or know just how much to say.

"I didn't like talking about Ryo-chan because it hurt to think about him," Hari admitted after a pause.

"Why?" Ron frowned.

"He was my first friend," Hari said. "Dudley used to scare off everyone at my school back in Surrey. Everyone knew to keep away from me and that being my friend would mean getting on Dudley's bad side and no one wanted that. He…is a bully."

Hari fisted her hands.

"But Echizen didn't?" Hermione asked wondering if Hari actually would understand that part of her life as well. She had always been different at school and had never really had any friends until Hari and Ron after that Halloween.

"Ryo-chan didn't attend the same school as me," Hari said. "He is a year younger than me, and he was in England for a tennis thing. We met at a local tennis court that normally was abandoned. We talked and he became my friend, he taught me tennis and refused to let Dudley scare him away when Dudley found out about him. I would meet Ryo-chan after school and at the weekends when I managed to get away from the house."

Hermione and Ron exchanged looks while the others listened but didn't say anything. Hari smiled slightly as she remembered her first meeting with Ryoma.

"And when he left I was devastated," Hari continued. "He and his parents had offered me a place I felt safe and happy for the first time in my life. I never knew people could be like them, if not for them I think I might have lost hope in people around me. But he never wrote as he promised. Or, I never got his letters."

"You said something about Dumbledore keeping it from you?" Bill interrupted with a question.

Hari glanced at him before she nodded.

"Yes," Hari said. "And when I found a letter from Ryo-chan and found out what Dumbledore had done I knew I couldn't go back to Hogwarts. He kept my first friend from me, and I then I knew that he never cared about me. He just wanted to control the Girl-Who-Lived, but he never cared about Hari."

Ron felt something clench deep in his gut as he listened to her talk but he did his best to push it away, but the feeling of a loss hit him and he wasn't even sure why. Why should he feel a loss?

They stayed in the living room talking until Rinko popped her head into the room and asked if they were staying for dinner and that dinner was ready.

...

"Thank you for having us," Bill said politely to Rinko when they all were seated around the kitchen table. It was a tight fit with so many around the kitchen table, but no one complained. The Weasley's were used to being many around the table.

"No trouble," Rinko smiled. "Friends of Hari-chan are always welcome here."

Hari smiled slightly feeling warmed at the way Rinko said it like it was a simple and accepted fact.

"More boys," Nanjiro muttered as he eyed the extra boys around the table.

"Dear," Rinko said in a sweet voice that fooled no one and Nanjiro scowled but didn't say anything else.

Hari shook her head noticing the way the twins exchanged smirks as they eyed Nanjiro. She wasn't sure she wanted to know what they had planned; she just hoped that it wasn't anything that would rile her adoptive dad up too much.

"So, tell me more about Hari-chan at Hogwarts," Ryoga smirked and looked at Hari who frowned at him. "You must have some embarrassing stories…"

"Ryoga-nii," Hari scowled.

"Embarrassing stories, eh?" the twins grinned. "Of our little Harikins?"

"Fred, George," Hari glared.

"Well," George said.

"Well, well…" Fred said.

"We heard a little…"

"…tale about a certain ghost…"

"…that has a crush…"

"…on our little Harikins," they said while grinning like a canary.

Hari groaned and dropped her head wondering if it was too late to tell them to leave. She could practically hear Ryoga blink as he took in what he had been told before he laughed.

"A ghost has a crush on you, Hari-chan?" Ryoga laughed.

"No," Hari denied.

"Lies, lies," Fred said waving a finger at her. "Moaning Myrtle so does have a crush on you."

"Did she not say she was keeping the stall next to hers in the bathroom free for you if you were to die?" George asked.

"And she did follow you around when we used that bathroom our second year," Ron decided to add with a smirk. "Always lingering close to you and giving you the dreamy look."

"Shut up," Hari muttered.

Ryoma looked amused as well and she saw even Rinko smile though she tried to look sympathetic while Nanjiro looked a cross between amused and scowling.

"But, ghosts?" Ryoga asked. "They're real?"

"Yeah," Hari said after sending a last glare at the twins. "There were several ghosts around Hogwarts. They're not dangerous or really scary. We even had a ghost as a teacher."

"How does that work?" Rinko asked shocked.

"Poorly," Hari and Ron said together before exchanging smiles while Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Professor Binns knows a lot about history," Hermione said. "It's interesting, really."

"You're the only one who can keep awake in his lessons, Hermione," Ron said.

"Yeah, it's the best sleeping medicine," Hari nodded. "All he talks about is Goblins wars and doesn't even know our names. Though, that could be a plus."

"He somehow manages to read our homework," Fred said with a sad sigh. "We tried to check but he noticed when we didn't hand in the correct work."

"Of course you tried," Bill sighed.

...

Hari was pleased that the dinner went as well as it did and the conversation flows easily and even Nanjiro was pulled out of his sulkiness and seemed to enjoy talking about the more trivial parts of magic. Hari wondered briefly if they had kept their questions back and if they had been curious about magic all along.

"Where are you staying?" Rinko asked when they were back in the living room. "I'm sorry we don't have the room for all of you here…"

"That's okay, ma'am," Charlie said.

"I have a friend from work who is from Tokyo," Bill explained. "He is in Egypt at the moment so his apartment here in Tokyo was free. He let us borrow it."

"I see," Nanjiro said. "So you're planning on staying for a while?"

Hari glanced at him before looking back at her friends. She wanted to know the answer to that as well.

"We probably will stay for most of the summer," Hermione said.

"Really?" Hari asked smiling.

"Yeah," Ron nodded and smiled a little.

Nanjiro sighed and leaned back with a pout. It didn't look like he was going to get rid of them so easily. But if Hari would be smiling like she was now as she laughed and talked with her friends then he guessed he couldn't complain too much.

...

Hari was finally alone in her room having gotten ready for the night. Not to get her wrong she had enjoyed spending the afternoon and much of the evening with her friends but it had been exhausting and emotional draining as well.

They had talked about a lot of things during the evening, but she knew that there was still much to talk about and to work out. She knew Ron was struggling with something. She had seen the way he had looked at her and frowned like he was thinking about something. She was a little worried about it but knew better than to push him. She would find out at some point, she just had to wait him out.

She sighed as she rubbed her eyes. They had really found her and she had lost count of the number of times she had thought that, but it was impossible for her not to return to that simple fact. They had found her.

The ringing tone from her phone startled her out of her musings and she jerked slightly before she shook her head at herself as she reached for the phone.

"Moshimoshi?"

"Hey, Hari-chan," Seiichi's voice greeted her and she smiled.

"Sei-chan," Hari was almost surprised with how she instantly relaxed hearing his voice.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Hai," Hari said. "I'm just tired."

"Though practice?" Seiichi asked.

"Yeah, but that's not why I'm exhausted," Hari said.

"Oh? Something happened?" Seiichi asked and Hari heard the concern in his voice.

"My friends from England came today," Hari said. "I had no idea they were coming…"

She continued to explain what had happened today and how her friends had shown up during their practice and while she couldn't tell him about magic and that side of the situation she still could tell him enough so he understood just what it meant for her that they had found her.

"Wow," he said. "That is amazing and tough at the same time. Are you okay?"

"I'm…okay, I think," Hari said honestly. "Just a lot to process."

"I can understand that," Seiichi said. "It's your best friends that you've told me about, right?"

"Yeah," Hari said pushing herself so she was seated a little more comfortable on the bed. "Ron and Hermione."

"You were worried about them, weren't you?" Seiichi asked. "About how they handled you leaving and if they were angry at you?"

Hari closed her eyes and nodded before she remembered that he couldn't see her.

"Yes, I did," Hari said. "I still think they are a little upset, but I think they understand a little at least."

"That's good," Seiichi said. "You just need to give them time and you'll work it out. They proved they are your friends by finding you, didn't they?"

"You're right," Hari said. "Thank you, you really helped calm me down."

"No problem," Seiichi said. "I look forward to meeting them."

"Yeah," Hari said. "Hopefully they will not act like overprotective idiots."

Seiichi laughed. "How did your dad take it seeing you with more boys?"

"Like an overprotective idiot," Hari deadpanned making Seiichi laugh again.

"Poor guy," Seiichi said.

"Sure," Hari snorted.

Hari relaxed even more as she continued to talk to Seiichi and she knew he made her talk about other things in order for her to do just that.

...

Hari was hurrying to get ready for school knowing it was another long day with classes before tennis practice. It was very close to the tournament now, just today and tomorrow again before it all started.

"Hari-chan?" Rinko stopped her as she was on her way out of the door.

"Hai?" Hari looked back at her.

"We need to talk, Hari-chan," Rinko said.

"But, school…" Hari frowned and glanced at the door where Ryoma was now waiting.

"It will only take a moment," Rinko said with a smile.

"Okay," Hari said. "I'll catch up, Ryo-chan. You and Momo-chan should get going."

She wasn't sure why Rinko had waited until now to talk to her but Hari followed the older woman into the living room.

"I think you need to contact the Japanese Ministry of Magic, Hari-chan," Rinko said bluntly.

"Eh?" Hari blinked that had not been what she had expected.

"I have been thinking about everything since last night," Rinko admitted. "And while I am pleased you have a chance to have your friends in your life again, I am a little worried about them finding you. Especially, if you wish to remain hidden as you've said before."

"I do," Hari frowned.

"Good," Rinko said and reached out and cupped her face with a gentle smile. "Because I don't like the sound of that school of yours and I know you haven't told me everything that has happened there. I think we need to talk to your caseworker at the Japanese Ministry of Magic and see what he thinks about this."

Hari frowned but she had to admit that it was probably a good idea, and she had briefly thought about it herself last night. If Rinko also thought it was best then she would do it.

"I'll send a letter with Hedwig asking him for a meeting," Hari said and glanced at the clock. "I'll do it now very quickly before I have to run."

Rinko nodded and patted Hari's shoulder before Hari ran up the stairs and into her room. Hedwig hooted at the abrupt entrance and shot Hari a look. Hari reached for a piece of paper and quickly scribbled down a letter.

...

 _Dear Hisakawa Takuya_

 _I need to talk to you about something important. Do you have time to meet me soon?_

 _Best wishes,_

 _Echizen Hari._

 _..._

 _Deciding that this would be good enough she put the small note in an envelope and wrote his name on the front before going over to Hedwig._

"I have a letter for you, Hedwig," Hari said. "Do you think you are up for delivering it now?"

Hedwig hooted and looked at Hari with a look that clearly said _of course._

"Thank you, girl," Hari said stroking her feathers before fastening the letter and watched as Hedwig soared out of the opened window and away from the house.

Hari glanced at the clock and grimaced. She was going to be late if she didn't run right now. So without any more fuss, she raced out of the room and down the stairs called a quick goodbye before she was out the door and on her way to school not slowing down at all.

Hari ran and ran and when she finally reached the school she was breathing hard and she saw Ryoma and Momoshiro just in front of her having put Momoshiro's bike in place.

"Hari-chan," Momoshiro blinked surprised seeing her. "You made it."

Hari nodded but no words would come out because she had enough trying to catch her breath. Ryoma gave her a concerned look.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Y-yeah," Hari gasped.

"You're hopeless, Hari," Ryoma said as he started to walk again.

"Eh? You're mean, Ryo-chan," Hari complained as she followed having caught her breath again. "It's not my fault that Okaa-chan wanted to talk to me before I left for school and had me send a letter…"

"You should have just had her drive you to school since she kept you back," Ryoma arched a brow at her. "I'm sure she would have done that."

Hari blinked. She hadn't thought about that.

"Ah."

Momoshiro laughed as he watched them. It was always amusing to listen to the two of them.

...

"Did the people looking for you find you yesterday?" Sora asked curiously as she leaned against the neighbouring desk and looked at Hari who was just finding her books and getting ready for the next lesson.

Hari blinked at her and then looked over at Hira who also looked curiously at her.

"You know?" Hari asked.

"They asked us if we knew where to find you," Hira shrugged. "We weren't sure we did the right thing in pointing them in the right direction."

"Ah," Hari said. "Well, they found me and it was fine. They are friends of mine from England and I haven't seen them in months, so it was a nice surprise."

"Naruhodo," Sora said. "One of them did say it was a surprise visit."

Hari smiled but didn't comment any more.

"So, are they still here?" Hira asked.

"Yeah, I'm meeting them after practice," Hari said.

"That' nice," Sora said.

"I hope you'll introduce us some time," Hira said.

"Sure," Hari agreed. "I will do that."

Just then the teacher entered the classroom and the twins walked back to their desks and sat down and Hari smile slightly as she turned her attention back to the front of the classroom.

The lesson went slowly and Hari's attention drifted off as she looked out of the window. Would Hisakawa contact her fast or would it go a couple of days before he would contact her? What would he say about her being found? Would he be able to help at all?

She was so lost in thought that she didn't notice the teacher ending the lesson until Kaido was tapping her shoulder startling her out of her thoughts.

"Ka-chan, you startled me," Hari said.

 **"** **The living prose charges the living,"** Kaido hissed.

"Yeah, yeah," Hari said rubbing her eyes. "Is it time for practice already?"

"Already?" Momoshiro asked from behind Kaido. "The lesson wasn't that fun to forget time altogether, Hari-chan."

"Um, no, I didn't really pay attention," Hari admitted with a blush. "I got lost in thought."

Kaido looked at her with a worried look in his dark eyes.

"Un. Are you okay, Hari-chan?" he asked.

"I'm fine," Hari smiled up at him and started to pack her things. "Just a lot on my mind."

"Hm," Kaido said unconvinced but he let it go.

They made their way to the tennis courts together and Hari was not surprised to see Ron and Hermione there already. But she was surprised that they were on their own. She looked around but she saw no trace of Fred or George or the two older Weasley's.

"Hari!" Hermione grinned and waved. "Hello!"

"Hey," Hari smiled back. "You're here on your own?"

"Bill and Charlie decided to see more of the city today and the twins decided to join them," Ron said pushing his hands into his pockets trying to look casual but his eyes drifted around curiously and a little warily.

"I see," Hari said. "You want to watch me practice again?"

"If you don't mind?" Hermione asked.

"Of course not," Hari said. "I just worry you will be bored."

"It's fascinating," Hermione said and Hari arched a brow. Hermione had never been one to enjoy sports, the only reason she bothered with Quidditch was because Hari had been on the team. "And we want to see you again, we'd rather wait for you here than to just be inside the apartment. Ron was driving me crazy."

Hari laughed while Ron scowled at Hermione. Oh, she could so easily imagine that.

"I was not," Ron denied.

"You interrupted her reading again, didn't you?" Hari asked amused.

"Well, I just asked a question," Ron said.

"Try maybe 20 questions none stop," Hermione interrupted.

Hari shook her head as they started to bicker and she felt like she was back at Hogwarts again. They always bickered and she realised that she had missed it more than she thought she had.

...

Hari finished practice and collapsed on the court breathing harder and felt like her arms were going to fall off. She heard Ryoma laugh close by and aimed a kick at his general direction but she only kicked the air.

"You missed," Ryoma said.

"I got that, Captain Obvious," Hari mumbled. "I'll just owe you one."

"Not nice, Hari," Ryoma said.

"Don't care at the moment," Hari shot back and smiled slightly.

"You two are hilarious," Fuji commented dryly as he stepped up to Hari and looked down at her with a smile on his face. He held out a hand and waited until she reached for it and helped to pull her back to her feet. "You okay?"

"Of course," Hari smiled. "How come you don't look affected at all by the practice?"

"Saa," Fuji smiled.

"Urusai," Hari scowled at him.

"That's not very nice, Hari-chan," Fuji's smile widened.

Hari sighed and turned her attention toward the fence and saw Ron and Hermione watching her and Fuji with a pensive look. She sighed again.

"Want to introduce your friends to me?" Fuji asked having followed her eyes easily. "Properly, I mean."

"Me too!" Kikumaru exclaimed and suddenly Hari had the excited boy attached around her neck (again). "I want to meet them properly too!"

"And me," Momoshiro said.

Hari sighed feeling tired but she also felt happy to be able to introduce her friends to…well, her friends. It made it all seem more real somehow. But she couldn't help the small nagging sensation in deep in her gut that said it was dangerous. Dangerous to mix her two worlds, her two lives. She had a feeling that she was about to take a step that she wouldn't be able to undo and it could destroy everything she had managed to build here away from that world.

She wasn't going to ruin everything by introducing them, was she?

No. She was being silly. There was no way that it would happen.

"Come on, then," she said forcing a smile and pushing back the uneasiness she felt.

Hari briefly wondered what Hermione and Ron were thinking about seeing Hari and the rest of the team coming toward them. She was a little worried that they didn't want to meet her friends from the team.

"Hello!" Kikumaru waved at them and beamed. "Hari-chan's friends!"

Ron arched a brow while Hermione smiled at him.

"Hello," Hermione said. "How are you?"

Hari snorted at the happy bounce Kikumaru did as he looked at them. He really looked like a kid on Christmas.

"Hermione, Ron this is Kikumaru Eiji," Hari said. "He's my sempai from the team and our acrobat tennis player."

"You're too kind, Hari-chan, nya!" Kikumaru beamed. "It's nice to meet Hari-chan's friends!"

Hari laughed a little as the stunned looks on Hermione and Ron's faces. She knew very well how they felt; she too had felt a little overwhelmed by the hyper boy that was Kikumaru Eiji. But she had gotten used to him and now she really couldn't imagine him any other way.

"And this is Fuji Shusuke," Hari continued as she motioned toward Fuji who gave his eye-closed smile as greeting. "Or as I call him, Shu-chan."

"Only you call me that, Hari-chan," Fuji said glancing at her and she grinned at him. "But, hello, nice to meet you."

"You too," Hermione said and Ron nodded looking between Hari and Fuji with a considering look.

Hari continued and introduced the rest of the team and adding a small fact about them as she did and she saw the curiosity on both sides as she did.

"And this is my friends from England, Weasley Ron and Granger Hermione," Hari finished the introductions.

"Where are the other four that was with you yesterday?" Kikumaru asked.

"They went to look around the city today," Hermione explained a little stilted in Japanese. "Ron and I went to meet Hari."

"Oh," Kikumaru said.

"You're not pretending to not understand Japanese at least," Fuji smiled.

"Eh?" Hermione blinked and Ron frowned.

"Why would we do that?" Ron asked. "We worked hard to learn…"

Hari almost laughed. Hard, well, in one sense of the word, yes, but they cheated and used a spell to make it easier. So, in her mind, it had been easy for them to learn it. Well, she was grateful that they did know it because it would be so much more trouble to translate and much easier for all her friends to communicate.

"Well," Fuji said and looked at Hari who blinked at him.

"What, Shu-chan?" she asked innocently. "Are you trying to say something?"

"Hari, what did you do?" Hermione asked.

"Nothing," Hari huffed.

"When she first arrived she pretended that she didn't understand anything we said if it wasn't English," Kikumaru said. "It was before she started school here, though."

Hari laughed and shrugged, "It was fun."

"Of course you would think so," Ron said but he looked amused. "How long did it last?"

"Not that long," Hari sighed and gave Fuji an annoyed look. "Shu-chan ruined it."

Ron and Hermione laughed at the pout on her face while Ryoma rolled his eyes.

"So they have experienced your pranking side," Ron said with a small smirk.

"Yeah, I would say we have," Kawamura smiled kindly and Hari rolled her eyes but smiled at him all the same. It was impossible to be annoyed at Kawamura.

"And it was the fact that the girls' locker room one day mysteriously was found with the furniture fastened at the roof," Momoshiro said glancing at Hari.

Ron and Hermione exchanged a look before looking at Hari who looked the perfect image of innocence.

"Why are you looking at me?" Hari asked.

"Why do you think?" Fuji smiled. "You are the perfect suspect, Hari-chan."

"I really have no idea what you're trying to say, Shu-chan," Hari said. "How could I have done that, eh? I'm not strong enough to do it."

Fuji still looked at her but the others looked thoughtfully at each other and nodded slowly.

"I guess you do have a point," Inui said. "By my data, it is improbable that you have managed it on your own. But if you had help, you would be the best suspect…"

Hari noticed Ron and Hermione blink confused at the data analyse but Hari was used to it so she just huffed and crossed her arms over her chest.

"To accuse me," Hari shook her head. "Honestly. No trust at all."

But her lips twitched slightly as she watched them. Ron and Hermione gave her knowing looks but remained silent.

...

"So," Ron said when they finally were on their own again and on their way to her home. "You did do that, didn't you?"

Hari glanced at him and laughed as she nodded.

"I did," she admitted. "But I used magic so I can't admit that to the others."

"Hari," Hermione sounded shocked. "You shouldn't use magic at your muggle school like that!"

"I'm not," Hari protested. "Not really. Just that one time because they were being idiots and needed the lesson."

She still was annoyed at what they had done, but not so much because of what had been done to her but more because of the fallout had affected Yoshida and Hari had become friends with the older girl even if they didn't get the chance to talk much. Honestly, Hari was glad she no longer was on that team. She was much happier with the boys'.

"But still, the statue of secrecy," Hermione said. "And…"

"Hermione," Hari interrupted her. "I know, alright? Just leave it because I don't want to hear it."

Hari hurried her steps a little more and remembered how she always felt so small when Hermione scolded her for something. And right now she really didn't want to feel like that and she didn't feel like Hermione had the right to say anything. Not now.

Ron gave Hermione a look and the girl frowned as she looked at Hari's back. Both could see the tension in her shoulders and Hermione winced. She knew she shouldn't have gone off like that…

"Hari, I'm sorry," Hermione said and Hari paused slightly.

"Fine," Hari said. "Let's forget it."

They walked the rest of the way in silence and Hari wondered how things had turned so tense again so fast. It had been going so well and she thought that the meeting between Ron and Hermione and her team had gone well. Maybe she was right, that it wasn't a good idea to mix her worlds.

"Welcome back, Hari-chan," Rinko smiled at them. "Ah, Ron-kun, Hermione-chan, you're welcome as well."

"Thank you, Echizen-sama," Hermione said politely.

"Oh, none of that," Rinko smiled. "Call me Rinko, dear. It's so many Echizen's around her and we all will be confused. We're not very big on the proper name thing."

"Okay, Rinko-san," Hermione said.

Rinko smiled and looked at Hari.

"Nanjiro is at the temple, Hari-chan," Rinko said and smiled. "So, you should be safe for a little while yet."

"Thanks, Okaa-chan," Hari said. "We'll go to my room."

Rinko nodded and walked back to her office and Hari led the way up to her room and pushed the door open. She saw Hedwig on her resting place and smiled. She was back from delivering her letter. Hari walked over to her and stroked her feathers and Hedwig opened her eyes and blinked a couple of times as she hooted softly.

"Sorry, girl," Hari said. "Didn't mean to wake you. Did he give you a reply?"

Hedwig nodded (in a way only she could do and Hari still marvelled at it) toward the desk and she saw an envelope with her name on it.

"Thank you, Hedwig," Hari stroked her feathers one more time before she walked over to the desk and grabbed the letter. She glanced at the door and saw Ron and Hermione lingering in the doorway unsurely. "Come in. You don't need to stand there, you know."

They stepped into the room and Ron closed the door behind them. Hari eyed it for a moment before she shrugged and sat down at the bed and watched her two friends move around her room. She watched Hermione stopping in front of Hedwig and cooed at her. Hedwig puffed out her chest and looked important and took in the attention she got.

"Nice room," Ron said looking around.

"Yeah," Hari nodded. "It is."

Hermione walked over to her desk and Hari saw her looking over her books lying on the desk and glance toward the bookshelf on the wall. A small frown on her face.

"Hari?"

"Yeah?"

"I… Can I ask you something?" Hermione asked.

Hari arched a brow. "Since when do you ask permission to ask a question?"

Hermione smiled slightly while Ron snorted as he sat down at the office chair by the desk.

"I was just wondering what you were doing about your magical education," Hermione asked looking at Hari. "I can't really see any of your books here. And you haven't talked about it at all, just your muggle school."

Hari just looked at her for a moment before she sighed. She knew the question would come eventually, but she had hoped that it wouldn't have been brought up already.

"I am focusing on my muggle education right now," Hari finally answered. "I am trying to do some magic in between but…." She shrugged.

"What?" Hermione asked. "Hari! You can't ignore your magical education like that! You have to learn to control your magic and continue with your education! What about your future? What about the OWLs? Your education is important and you really do need to finish it! You can't just ignore it, Hari!"

Hari sighed and pushed herself up from the bed and looked back at Hermione.

"I don't want to have anything to do with magic anymore," she said. "I really…don't."

Hermione gaped at her and Hari fisted her hands.

"Hari Potter! You need to think things through! You can't do this!" Hermione exclaimed. "Are you just giving up? Giving up on who you are?"

"I can't do what exactly?" Hari snapped back at her. "I can't have a normal life with friends and family? I can't be just a girl who enjoys playing tennis and being with her friends? I can't be just Hari?"

Hermione blinked looking a little stunned while Ron looked between the two of them but didn't say anything.

"That's not what I meant, Hari," Hermione said quietly. "You know that."

Hari breathed harder and looked away as she felt the anger build up inside of her and she knew that all the anger she felt wasn't really directed at Hermione and it would be unfair to take it out on her.

"I just meant that you can't run away for your magic," Hermione said as she moved closer to Hari and Hari didn't move away. "Your magic is still inside of you and it will create trouble if you don't get it trained properly."

"Hagrid stopped using magic when he was a second year," Hari pointed out. "And he was fine."

"Hagrid's case is different from yours, Hari," Hermione said. "You are magically stronger, and just last summer you had a burst of accidental magic. It proves that your core is stronger than most, and you need to get it trained. And even if it won't create trouble for you in that way, you will always be a witch, Hari."

Hari frowned and suddenly Hermione pulled her into a hug and Hari tensed for a moment before she leaned into the hug and hugged the other girl back. Tightly. She felt like her inside was in a war against itself as she was thinking about what Hermione was saying.

She didn't want to do magic. Every time she thought about it she got flashes to Hogwarts and everything she wanted to forget, that's why it was so much easier to just ignore it and focus on her new life. The life she was working so hard to build up.

"I don't know what to do, Hermione," Hari admitted softly. "I can't..."

Hermione looked over at Ron who was frowning and looked in deep thought but he was also looking worried and torn about something. She really had no idea what he was thinking about. She had hoped that he knew what to say to help Hari, but he seemed to be at a loss as well.

"We'll figure it out, Hari," Hermione said as she pulled back. "We'll help you."

Hari sighed but she nodded. She knew she needed it, but it didn't mean that she had to like it.

Suddenly the door was flung opened and a panting Nanjiro stood there looking at them with wide wild eyes as he looked around and his eyes soon zeroing in on Ron who blinked.

"Boy in the room!" Nanjiro exclaimed. "There's a boy in your room!"

Hari pulled away from Hermione who looked a little shocked while Hari sighed.

"Otou-chan," she said.

"Hari-chan, there' a boy in your room," he said.

"I know," Hari rolled her eyes. "There's a girl in my room too."

"That's…"

"And Ryo-chan and Ryoga-nii are in my room all the time as well," Hari continued.

"That's…"

"And so are you," Hari pressed on.

"That's…"

"That's what?" Hari asked. "You're being ridiculous, Otou-chan."

"That's different! They are your brothers!" Nanjiro whined. "That boy…that boy isn't! He's…the enemy!"

The last part was added in what could only be described as a pathetic whine. Hari glanced at Ron and Hermione and almost laughed because they looked a good mix of shocked and surprised and confused. It made an interesting mix and something inside of Hari just relaxed and she felt a laugh build up and threaten to escape.

 **...**

 **...**

 **AN:** **What do you think? XD**

 **So sorry for the delayed wait! I had planned on having this out a short time after the last chapter because I knew what I wanted with this one. But, I kept getting pulled away by real life, work and other things that were unavoidable and I didn't get a chance to sit down and actually write for any period of time for days. Annoying. But, then I struggled a little with how I wanted the conversation between Hari and Ron and Hermione to go. I didn't want it to be just repeating what has happened in the story up until now, but at the same time, I wanted to show a few reactions to some of it. I hope I managed to get a good enough middle ground.**

 **And as always; thank you so much for reading and supporting the story! XD Happy Easter if you celebrate the holiday! :)**

 **Japanese words used:**  
 **Moshimoshi - Hello**  
 **Hai - Yes**  
 **Naruhodo - I see**  
 **Saa - Filler**  
 **Urusai - Annoying**  
 **Sempai - Upperclassman**  
 **Okaa-chan - Mum**  
 **Otou-chan - Dad**


	38. The start of the Kanto Tournament

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Prince of Tennis!**

 **...**

 **...**

Hari waited for Hisakawa to say something and she forced herself to remain still in her seat on the couch and not shift or fiddle with anything as she waited. She had told him everything that had happened over the last few days with her friends from England finding her. He had listened and remained serious as he did so and now he was silent and looked to be in deep thought.

Rinko and Nanjiro were there with her but other than that they were on their own. She had not seen Ron or Hermione or any of the others today saying that she needed some time and that she had something to do. She hadn't exactly told them what because she didn't want them to think that she wasn't happy to see them. Because she was.

Well, mostly.

She didn't like the new tension between them. She had to keep biting her tongue to stop from snapping at them at times when they said something about Hogwarts or magic, or when Hermione talked about her magical education. She didn't want to fight with them, but she was done doing things like everyone else said she should. She wanted to find something that worked for her.

"That was unexpected," Hisakawa finally said bringing Hari out of her thoughts. "Though, we should have been prepared for it."

Hari grimaced and nodded. She should have known that Ron and Hermione wouldn't let it go like that, but how was she supposed to know? They hadn't written or said anything to her before she left Hogwarts. She had thought they were angry at her.

"At least they are your friends," Hisakawa continued. "And we will work on getting some protective enchantments around your house here so that you are better protected, but there will be weaknesses in this because this is a muggle area and we can't make the house disappear. That would create too many problems and questions, but we already have a no-trace charm on you so you can't be magically traced."

Hari blinked but nodded.

"Also we will need to talk to your friends and see if we can protect their knowledge in their heads," Hisakawa continued. "It is a known fact that Dumbledore is a legillimens."

"Um…what's that?" Nanjiro looked confused.

"It's what we call someone who's skilled at legilimency, meaning they can read your mind," Hisakawa explained.

Hari frowned at that and felt something drop inside her.

"Is that why you feel like he can see straight through you?" Hari asked feeling slightly disturbed.

Hisakawa looked at her for a moment before he nodded.

"That can be a reason, yes," he said.

He had read her mind. She was sure of it, all those time he looked her with that piercing and searching look and it was like he tried to see through her. It was making her uncomfortable and angry knowing that he had violated her privacy like that.

And…how many times hadn't she thought that Snape could read her mind as well?

"He used it on you?" Rinko asked looking at Hari before looking at Hisakawa. "He used it on a child? On one of his students?!"

"I cannot say for sure," Hisakawa said. "But there is a chance and if you're right in your worry of him looking for you, we can't be sure that he won't try to use it on your friends in an effort of trying to find you, Hari-chan."

Hari nodded grimly.

"So what will they have to do?" she asked concerned. "How can we hide it from him? They will go back to Hogwarts in September…"

"I will think about something before it's time for them to leave," Hisakawa promised.

"Okay," Hari said trying to calm down and not worry about it.

...

"And there is something else we need to talk about, Hari-chan," Hisakawa said. "I had planned on coming to see you soon as well."

"Nani?" Hari asked nervously.

"I got word from the Department of Magical Education (DME) that you are not handing in your best work or any work at all for your magical classes," Hisakawa said.

Hari looked down.

"Why is that, Hari-chan?" Hisakawa asked.

Hari swallowed and fisted her hands. She could feel Rinko and Nanjiro looking at her also wanting answers and she really didn't have any.

"Hari-chan?" Rinko asked. "Sweetie, why haven't you been doing your magical work?"

"I just haven't had time," Hari said a little defiantly. "With catching up on my muggle school work because I am miles behind there and it's a lot of work trying to catch up, and then there is my tennis practice. And…and I actually enjoy school now, and I never did that before. I had planned on doing the magical work to, but it was easier to postpone it because I didn't really like doing it."

"The agreement was that you would do your own work that you would send in," Hisakawa reminded. "You do need to keep up with your magical education at least until your OWLs."

Hari scowled slightly. She couldn't help it. She felt restricted and forced when it came to magic. It wasn't fun. At all.

"I'll talk with a friend in the DME and ask them to send an advisor to your house in a week or two and they'll talk to you about your options," Hisakawa said. "Maybe you can choose a few core subjects that you can continue with so that you keep your options open for later years if you ever change your mind, okay?"

Hari nodded knowing that this was the best option she would get. She was not really happy about it, but she had known that there would eventually be a reaction to her lack of work in her magical education.

...

Fred and George laughed as they ducked behind a tree and watched as their magically charmed rubber snake made its way through the crowd of students. No one had noticed it yet, but they would soon.

The Kanto Tournament was starting and they were there to watch Hari play tennis, but it was too good of an opportunity to pull a prank to pass up. So, therefore; the sake. At least it was a fake snake, one of those muggle ones (though magically manipulated) you could buy in a store.

"AAAAHH!"

A loud piercing scream sounded making the twins look toward the girl who had screamed and was now jumping about.

"Hebi!"

"What the…!"

"SNAAAAAKEEE!"

Fred and George couldn't help it; they laughed so hard that they had to support themselves against the tree as they took in the chaos and screams as the students ran to get away from the rubber snake that had now stopped moving and was more or less twitching on the ground. The magic was wearing off.

A boy with messy light grey hair and a rat-tail stepped up to the snake looking utterly calm and just curious as he stared down at the snake.

"Oi! Niou! Be careful!" A boy with bright red hair called out as he popped the bubble-gum. He didn't look as worried as the words suggested.

Niou didn't even glance over at his friend before he bent down and ignoring the startled yelps from the other students who had paused to watch him, he picked up the rubber snake by the neck. It gave a last twitch before it went completely still.

Fred and George exchanged looks before they looked back at the boy who was now poking at it curiously.

"It's just a rubber snake, Puri," Niou said almost sounding disappointed but then he smiled widely as he looked around. "What a fun prank."

"Eh? A rubber snake?" the redhead asked coming up to Niou and peered curiously at the rubber snake. "Ah. It is. It looked so real, though."

"Interesting," a boy with brown hair and his eyes closed said.

While a boy with glasses helped a girl who had fallen to the ground back to her feet.

"Are you alright, miss?" he asked politely to which she nodded and blushed.

The watching (and formerly panicking) students around them were scowling and looked embarrassed as they went back to what they had been doing before the fake snake. Fred and George were a little disappointed that the prank already was over.

"But how did it move on its own?" a boy with hair resembling seaweed asked as he poked the snake.

"I don't know," Niou shrugged shaking the snake a little. "It feels like just a normal rubber snake. There's no battery in it…"

"I wonder who is behind it," one of the boys asked looking around curiously.

...

Hari frowned worriedly when Oishi still hadn't shown up. It wasn't like him to be late like this and to such an important day. She glanced at the clock and saw that it was barely twenty minutes until they had to register or they would be disqualified.

"Why is it always something on our first day?!" Horio moaned looking worried.

"Who can we use as a decoy this time?" Kachiro asked. "Horio can't pass as Oishi…"

"Mizuno," Horio and Kachiro said at the same time and turned toward their friend who paled and took a step back holding up his hands.

"Wait…" he said nervously.

Hari shook her head at them before she looked away. She saw Kikumaru looking worried and glanced toward the steps where Oishi (probably) would come running up. Hopefully, he would come soon.

"You actually found your way here without getting lost?" Fuji smirked as he came up beside Hari.

Hari scowled at him.

"Of course I did," she said. "You guys actually stayed in one spot today."

Fuji laughed and shook his head.

"You came with Echizen today, right," Fuji said.

Hari pouted and looked away from him not saying anything. She did not want to admit that he was right. She had arrived with Ryoma and that was probably (most definitely) the reason why she found them so easily.

"You ready for the tournament?" Hari asked glancing at Fuji.

"Saa," he smiled. "It will be interesting."

Hari shook her head and looked around. Still no sign of Oishi.

"Where's Oishi?" Kikumaru asked for the fifth time looking around for his doubles partner.

"I don't know," Momoshiro said.

Hari smiled seeing Momoshiro. He had really gone all out in his effort to support the team. He had even made bands that they could tie around their heads that had cheers written on it. And not to forget the flag.

"Maybe he got lost," Hari suggested.

They turned to stare at her and she blinked.

"He's not you, Hari-chan," Kikumaru said. "Oishi doesn't get lost."

"My data says that you're the one who is most likely to get lost," Inui said.

"Yeah, Hari-chan-sempai, Oishi has a sense of direction!" Horio called.

Hari pouted and ignored Fuji's amused looks.

...

"Ryo-chan, you were right," Hari said amused as Ryoma chocked on his drink when Ryuzaki said that Oishi was at the hospital helping a pregnant lady and wouldn't leave her because she was on her own and scared. Oishi was too kind to leave her alone like that.

What had Hari feeling amused was that Ryoma had suggested that right before Ryuzaki had gotten a call from Oishi. No one had thought it even possible and said it was an excuse only Ryoma would use.

Hari watched as Momoshiro declared he would take Oishi's place at the hospital and ran off. She felt proud as she watched him. He had really taken steps in his development.

"Hari!"

Hari looked away and saw Ron and Hermione followed by the twins and Bill and Charlie coming toward them. She smiled as she waved.

"Hey!" She smiled.

"You're still just standing here?" Bill asked looking around curiously.

"We're missing a member," Hari said and explained how Oishi had ended up going to the hospital helping a pregnant lady, and if Hari understood correctly having saved her from falling as well.

She looked closer at Fred and George who both had that light in their eyes that showed they had been laughing and she knew it meant that they had pulled a prank. She arched a brow at them but they just winked.

Shrugging she turned her attention back to her team and noted that they didn't seem overly worried; they obviously had faith in Momoshiro's ability to get to the hospital in time to relieve Oishi so that he could get back in time.

She didn't feel the same confidence. Not that she doubted Momoshiro. That wasn't the problem, but she worried more about the fact that Oishi had saved the pregnant woman from falling and…well… she had a nagging feeling that Oishi might have gotten hurt.

She really hoped that she was wrong.

"You worried?" Hermione asked.

Hari shrugged and frowned slightly.

"A little," she admitted.

The sound of a phone ringing made Hari looked toward Ryuzaki who answered as she stepped away from them so that they couldn't hear what she was saying. But they could see her frown and getting a serious look on her face.

Hari felt her stomach drop as she knew that her worries had been correct.

"So dramatic," Charlie observed when they finally had gotten registered and were officially ready for the start of the Kanto Tournament. "Are you always this dramatic?"

Hari snorted as she looked at Charlie.

"With Hari-chan on our team?" Kikumaru grinned even though he still looked a little worried. Hari knew he was worried about his partner. "Always."

"This isn't my fault!" Hari protested.

"Surprisingly it isn't you who got mixed up in the situation," Fuji smirked.

Hari scowled at them before she huffed and looked away from them.

"They lie," Hari said looking at her friends.

"I don't know about that," Ron smiled. "It does sound like something you could do…"

"Yeah," Hermione nodded.

"Traitors," Hari muttered much to the others amusement.

Fred and George laughed and both put an arm around her shoulder squeezing her between them as they grinned.

"Oh, I think…" Fred said.

"…we have…" George said.

"…to hear more…" Fred said.

"…about your time here, Hari," they finished together.

"No, you don't," Hari mumbled trying to get free from them.

The twins only laughed and she knew it meant that they wouldn't give up before they had gotten the others talking about her. She almost pouted.

...

Her thoughts moved to the matches coming up later and she wondered who would play and if Ryoma would be able to play Keigo. It would be interesting if he would, but she doubted it. She had a feeling that Tezuka would be the one to play against Keigo. Maybe it was for the best given the tension between Ryoma and Keigo. The two seemed to have some sort of competition going, and it was all because of her.

And her friends would meet Keigo and hopefully that would go alright. She knew that Ron and Hermione had their concerns about this, but she hoped that they would relax when they met him.

Um. When they got over his arrogance and the fact that he could act like a prat.

 _-Flashback-_

" _So, I have something to tell you," Hari said as she made herself comfortable on her bed next to Hermione while Ron sat on the office chair looking over at them. His legs were popped up at the edge of the bed._

" _What?" Ron asked._

" _I found out something else while I was here," Hari said. "I found out that mum was godmother to a boy a year older than me."_

 _Ron and Hermione stared at her surprised._

" _Eh?"_

" _Lily has a godson?" Hermione asked. "Sirius never said anything about it, did he? Professor Lupin didn't either…"_

" _I know," Hari said. "They never said anything and I would like to know why they didn't, but I can't ask them right now. But, it's true. Mum had a godson."_

" _But how do you know? Who is it?" Ron asked._

" _He told me," Hari said. "And his name is Atobe Keigo."_

" _But how do you know he's telling you the truth?"_

" _He had the evidence to back it up," Hari said. "He had pictures and stories, and his parents did as well."_

" _You've met his parents?" Hermione asked. "Hari, but what if…"_

" _I worried about it a lot, Hermione," Hari interrupted. "I didn't rush into it if that's what you're worried about. I am able to think for myself, you know."_

" _I know, but…" Hermione said but stopped._

 _Hari frowned slightly but shrugged it off. "Well, anyway, I met them and we've talked a few times after that. I've talked more with him, though."_

" _And who is he? How is your mum his godmother?" Ron asked._

" _Mum was best friend with his mum when they were children," Hari explained and gave them a quick overview of Lily's history with Atobe Yukiko._

 _-Flashback end-_

Hari frowned as the memory of her telling Ron and Hermione about Keigo. She couldn't help but feel like every time she told them something about her life here or her new discoveries the distance between them grew. She could tell that Ron was holding back his feelings, but she knew that it wouldn't last. He would soon boil over and she would need to be prepared to deal with it then.

And Hermione…Hari frowned. She really didn't want to fight her, but she wasn't the same person anymore. Before she allowed Hermione (and Ron to a certain degree) to dictate her actions and thoughts, she had been too worried about losing them as her friends too really stand up to them. But now…well, she wasn't that girl anymore and she knew that she wouldn't be able to keep quiet about the disapproval she saw in their eyes at times.

But she didn't want to lose their friendship. She really didn't. They had been with her through some really difficult times at Hogwarts and the fact that they had found her that they had looked for her proved that they did care about her.

So, she postponed the talk she knew they had to have. She really didn't want to push them away.

"Hari?"

Hari blinked and saw Fred looking at her with an arched brow. "You okay?"

"Yeah, sorry," she smiled. "Just got lost in thought."

"Dangerous," George grinned but she saw the worry in his eyes.

Hari smiled to reassure them and did her best to push her thoughts away and focus on what she was supposed to focus on.

...

"Doubles 2; Kikumaru and Echizen Hari," Ryuzaki said.

Hari felt determination fill her as she exchanged a look with Kikumaru who looked equally determined. She knew he was still worried about Oishi and that she wasn't his ideal partner, but she knew she could do a good job. She would prove it.

"You and me, Hari-chan," Kikumaru said holding up his hand for a high-five which she gave with a smile.

"We'll win," she said and he grinned.

"Doubles 1: Kaido and Inui," Ryuzaki continued after giving Hari and Kikumaru a proud little smile.

Kaido and Inui didn't say anything as they stared at Ryuzaki.

"Singles 3: Kawamura," Ryuzaki called.

Kawamura looked serious and a little nervous but mostly determined like the rest of them.

"Singles 2: Fuji," Ryuzaki said.

Hari saw that Fuji gave a small smile and she knew why. He would play the one who had beaten his brother and knew that Fuji was looking forward to that.

"Singles 1: Tezuka," Ryuzaki finished.

Hari wasn't surprised that Tezuka would be the one to play Keigo, and she had to admit that she did look forward to seeing which one of them were the best.

"From now on there will be no changes," Ryuzaki said firmly. "If you lose here the seniors will have to retire. Our dream of going to the Nationals will also be gone. All of you! Play with all you have so that you'll have no regrets!"

"Hai!" They all yelled back feeling the resolve fill them and it showed in their expressions.

...

Seiichi sighed as he watched his teammates still poke around with the rubber snake and he saw that Sanada was getting tired of it as well if the sigh he let out was any indication.

"Give it a rest," Seiichi finally said.

"But Yukimura! It moved on its own," Bunta said around his bubble-gum.

Seiichi shook his head as he continued to walk. They had already registered for the tournament but they didn't have a match until the next day. Though Seiichi wanted to see Hari's team play and his teammates had decided to join him.

He gave them a look and continued to walk. He didn't really know where Hari and her team had gathered before the match but he guessed going to the court where they would be playing Hyotei would do. She would at least come there eventually.

"Will Hari-chan play today?" Sanada asked.

Seiichi glanced over at his best friend but he was looking straight ahead and looked serious like normal so he couldn't see what he was thinking. But he knew him well enough to know that Sanada was curious about Hari.

"I don't know," Seiichi said. "She said their coach hadn't told them who's going to play yet, but she said that she doubted it."

"Oh? Hari-chan won't be playing?" Kirihara asked disappointed. "I wanted to watch her play…"

"Yukimura said that Hari-chan didn't know," Jackal reminded calmly. "We'll just have to wait and see."

Kirihara nodded but still looked a little disappointed.

Seiichi couldn't help but smile. He liked that his team, his friends, seemed to like Hari despite not having met her many times. But they showed interest and asked about her and wanted to watch her first match. It meant a lot to him.

But he was a little nervous if he was going to be honest. He knew her friends from England were there as well now, and he really wanted them to like him. She talked about them a lot, but he knew there was something she held back from him as well. He knew she wasn't 100% happy with them being here, but she refused to really tell him what it was that made her hesitant and wary. He didn't really like that she wouldn't confide in him completely, he wanted to be there for her but if he didn't know what was wrong then how was he going to help her?

He pushed it back because he wasn't going to dwell on it and he didn't want to make anything out of it. Perhaps she would confide more in him if given more time.

"Ah! There she is!" Kirihara suddenly exclaimed and bounced off before anyone could hold him back. Seiichi sighed but smiled slightly at the excitable second-year. He heard Kirihara calling Hari's name and saw Hari who had been talking with someone Seiichi didn't know turn around and smile when she saw Kirihara. Then her eyes moved from Kirihara and met his and she smiled turned even warmer than before making him feel his chest warm and a fluttery feeling in his stomach.

...

"Hari-chan!" An excitable voice called making Hari turn from where she had been talking with Ron and his brothers and Hermione. She saw Kirihara coming bouncing toward her and smiled at him before she looked behind him and felt her stomach do a funny dance as she met Seiichi's warm eyes and the small smile that she knew was only meant for her. She also noticed that all of his team were with him as well.

"Akaya-kun," she smiled as she turned her attention back to Kirihara. "How are you?"

"Hey! We're here to watch you play!" Kirihara said.

"Oi! It's you!" Momoshiro exclaimed. "You're the one who crashed our practice!"

Kirihara blinked at him before he shrugged.

"So?" he asked before looking back at Hari who had turned her attention to Seiichi who had come closer now.

"Hello, Hari-chan," Yagyuu smiled politely and formally.

"Hey, Yagyuu-kun," Hari smiled.

Hari walked over to Seiichi who smiled at her and she grabbed his hand.

"Sei-chan," she grinned. "You're here."

"I said I wanted to watch your team play today," Seiichi smiled and reached out to push a loose strand of her hair from her face and let his fingers linger against her cheek for a moment before he pulled his hand back.

"Great!" she said. "You'll have to meet my friends then."

Seiichi nodded and looked over Hari's head and saw the curious and considering looks from the six people he assumed were her friends from England. He pushed back the wave of nerves that hit him as he put on his calm smile. Hari pulled at his hand and dragged him toward them and he knew she understood that he was nervous because she squeezed his hand slightly and gave him a reassuring smile.

"Guys!" Hari said. "There's someone I want you to meet."

"I take it he's not your mum's godson?" Ron asked suspiciously as he looked at Seiichi.

"Eh? No," Hari blinked. "He's not."

"Okay," Ron said.

"Sei-chan, this is the Weasley's," Hari said pointing at them, "Bill, Charlie, Fred, George and Ron. Ron's my best friend. And my other best friend, Granger Hermione."

Seiichi smiled politely.

"Yoroshiku," he said.

"Guys, this is my boyfriend, Yukimura Seiichi," Hari said. "And his team…"

She listed every name on his team as she pointed them out and they nodded politely, but they all noticed how the group seemed to have frozen with identical looks of surprise on their face, mouths slightly open and wide-eyed.

Hari bit her lip as she tried to keep the smile off her face as she took in her friends' reactions. Bill and Charlie were the ones who broke out of it first and nodded politely at Seiichi and his team and even reached out to shake Seiichi's hand.

But the twins and Ron and Hermione seemed to be caught in a loop as they looked from Hari to Seiichi and then their still connected hands. And then blinked before they did it again.

"Why do I have a feeling that you hadn't told them about me?" Seiichi whispered in her ear making her lean into him and giggle.

"Well…I thought it would be amusing to see their reactions…" Hari said innocently making Seiichi sigh but smile as he pressed a soft kiss to her temple.

"What…wait…um…what?" Ron babbled.

Hari looked back at her friends and saw that they had broken out of the stupor but were now blinking rapidly.

"Hari?" Hermione said. "Did you say; boyfriend?"

"Hai," Hari said. "He's my boyfriend."

"Boy that is a friend?" Ron asked hopefully.

Hari snorted.

"No, boyfriend, like in I like him and he likes me," Hari said a small blush colouring her cheeks even as she squeezed Seiichi's hand and feeling him squeeze back.

"A boy has finally caught our Hari's heart," Fred and George said as one.

"Oh…"

"…dear…"

"…what will…"

"…all the boys…"

"…at home say?"

Hari rolled her eyes at them when she saw their wide teasing grins as they stared at them.

"What boys?" she snorted.

"What boys, she asked?" Fred said with mock shock.

"She did, indeed," George answered in the same tone.

"Well, there was a boy named Michael," Fred said.

"And a boy named Ernie," George added.

"And then there was the prat Malfoy…" Fred said.

"Okay! Stop it!" Hari interrupted them with a glare. "Michael? Like Corner? No way! And Ernie Macmillan? As if. They're just friends, or really just acquaintances. And Malfoy? Really? He's a jerk and a prejudice prat that won't know what liking someone meant!"

Hari scowled at them making them laugh before they looked at Seiichi who arched a brow as he glanced at Hari. Hari noticed and felt her cheeks tinge red.

"Nice to meet you, Yukimura-san," Hermione said politely and held out a hand to Seiichi bringing the attention away from the twins much to Hari's relief. She was all too aware that her friends from her team were laughing or at least looking amused and she saw the same amusement in Seiichi's team.

"Nice to meet you too, Granger-san," Seiichi said with a small smile as he shook her hand. "Hari-chan has told me a lot about you."

Hari looked at Ron who looked sceptical but when she turned her eyes pleading he sighed and held out his hand.

"Nice to meet you," Ron said gruffly as Seiichi shook his hand.

"You too, Weasley-san," Seiichi said.

"Call me Ron," Ron said uncomfortably. "We're too many to keep track of if you're going to call us by our last names."

Hari snorted, "and that's even without all of you here."

"All of them?" Kirihara asked.

"They're missing two siblings," Hari said. "They're seven siblings in total."

"That's a lot," Bunta blinked.

...

"So, are you playing?" Kirihara asked.

Hari nodded, "yeah, I am."

"Awesome," Bunta grinned around his bubble-gum.

Hari smiled slightly as her team also stepped closer having let her introduce Seiichi to her friends in peace (though that didn't mean that they hadn't paid attention).

"She's playing with me, nya!" Kikumaru said as he bounced over to them and stopped beside Hari.

"Aren't you normally playing with Oishi?" Seiichi asked looking around and realising that he didn't see Oishi.

"Well," Hari frowned slightly still feeling worried about her friend. "Oishi got hurt on the way here because he caught a pregnant lady who fell down some stairs as she went into labour."

Seiichi blinked. "Really?"

Hari nodded, "really. Oishi is still at the hospital with the pregnant lady because he didn't want to leave her alone until her husband gets there."

"I see," Seiichi said.

"Then we'll get to see you play, Hari-chan," Sanada said. "It will be interesting."

Hari smiled at him and nodded.

"Did you see the chaos earlier, Puri!" Niou asked changing the subject seemingly unable to keep quiet anymore.

"Chaos?" Momoshiro asked curiously. "What chaos?"

Hari also looked curiously at Niou wanting to know more.

"Someone let lose a rubber snake and it moved on its own and had everyone is panicking and it created such chaos!" Niou exclaimed.

Hari blinked. A rubber snake…?

"A rubber snake moved on its own?" Kikumaru asked sceptically.

"It did," Bunta nodded.

"Here," Niou pulled it up and held it so they could all see it.

Hari blinked again because that rubber snake looked awfully familiar…

"Oi. Isn't that yours, Hari?" Ron turned to look at Hari.

"It is!" Hermione said. "I recognise it, you had that our second year. You created a mass panic at school with that thing."

Hari remembered all too well what they referred to. She had grown tired of being feared and believed to be the Heir of Slytherin and had decided to conjure up a rubber snake like the ones the muggles used for pranks and such. She had cast a charm on it and had it move around the Great Hall during dinner.

Oh, the panic she had created. She loved it. She had loved seeing those who believed her to be the one hurting everyone panic. If they were going to be idiots then she wouldn't feel bad for them either. She had not been caught for the prank even if she had a feeling that some of the professors had known it was her.

"But…I didn't do it," Hari said when they all looked at her. Seiichi looked amused and arched a brow at her.

Niou and Bunta looked shocked but almost hopeful as they stared at her.

"It does seem like something you would find amusing, Hari-chan," Fuji smiled with his eyes closed.

"Yeah, the data suggest you are likely to be guilty," Inui added.

"Oh? Does it?" Yanagi asked his friend. "Interesting data."

Hari shook her head.

"I didn't do it," she denied. "I have been here the whole time, remember? I came with Ryo-chan."

"She did," Ryoma nodded and she smiled at him.

"But then who did it?" Jackal asked.

Hari looked to the twins who had been remarkably silent. She narrowed her eyes at them.

"Fred, George," she said. "Do you know anything about this? Because I'm pretty sure I gave that snake to you."

Fred and George smiled trying to look innocent.

"Eh? Hari, do you really…"

"…accuse us for doing…"

"…something like that?" they finished together.

Hari snorted.

"George, Fred," Bill sighed. "Seriously."

"Those poor students," Charlie said but he did look a little amused.

Niou, Kirihara and Bunta had turned to the twins with wide awed eyes when they realised who had been behind the prank.

"You did it, Piyo?" Niou asked. "Really?"

"Oh, they did it alright," Hari huffed shaking her head. "They're known pranksters back home."

She shook her head at the sheepish look on Fred and George's faces but Niou looked to be in awe and was next to them in a second and already pulling them into a conversation. The twins didn't even blink before they joined him and responded with equally eager faces.

...

"Uh-oh," Seiichi said quietly next to her making Hari glance at him and saw the wary look at his face as he watched the scene.

"What?" Hari asked.

"I have a feeling that my life is going to become even more complicated," Seiichi sighed.

Hari smiled at the despair she picked up on in his voice and she turned and stepped closer to him making him look at her more fully now and smile. His free hand (the other still held her hand) went to her waist and rested there as he pulled her even closer.

"I feel like I should say sorry, or something," Hari smiled mischievously.

"You should," Seiichi agreed.

Hari stepped closer and leaned up and pressed her lips to his and she felt his hand tighten on her waist slightly curling her shirt that he was clutching. His lips pressed firmly back against hers and she was sure her heart would burst out of her chest at any moment.

A second later she pulled back remembering that they were in the middle of both of their teams and her friends so she didn't want to get too lost in Seiichi. Though, it was a battle because just meeting his violet-blue eyes with hers had her breathing picking up and she wanted to kiss him again.

"I'm sorry," she smiled.

"Sure, you…" he started but was interrupted.

"Oh, Hari and Yukimura sitting in the tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G," Hari heard the twins sing and blushed as she hid her face against Seiichi's chest. She knew her face was bright red and she really wished that the twins would go away. Somewhere far, far away where they couldn't embarrass her anymore.

 **...**

 **...**

 **AN:** **What do you think? XD**

 **Again, sorry for the delay in the update. Hope you liked the new chapter, though. :) Next chapter will be Hari and Kikumaru's double match! XD**

 **Thank you for supporting the story and reading! XD You're the best! :)**

 **Japanese words used:**  
 **Nani - What**  
 **Hebi - Snake**  
 **Saa - Filler**  
 **Hai - Yes**  
 **Yoroshiku - Nice to meet you**


	39. Seigaku vs Hyotei part 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter of Prince of Tennis!**

 **...**

 **...**

"Hari-chan!" Keigo smirked.

"Keigo," Hari smiled back. "You're finally here. I was wondering if you'd back out."

"As if," Keigo snorted. "Too bad I won't be playing your brother."

Hari rolled her eyes.

"Too bad," she agreed shaking her head.

"So, your friends…" Keigo looked around and his eyes landed on the group of friends that were standing at the side of the court. He noticed them looking at him as well.

"Come on," Hari sighed. "Just behave."

"I always behave, Hari-chan," Keigo said as he followed her to where her friends were. His team remained at the court talking among themselves.

"Guys," Hari said. "This is mum's godson, Atobe Keigo. Keigo, this is my friends from England."

She said the names and briefly wondered if she should just get them nametags. She was getting pretty tired of saying their names all the time.

"Hm," Keigo said. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you," Hermione said and the other murmured the same thing.

"You're playing our Hari today, huh?" George asked.

"What? You want to play against me?" Hari arched a brow.

"Well, it would be fun," Keigo smirked, "though, I'd rather play Echizen. I would love to beat that brat."

"Says the brat," Hari rolled her eyes. "You two should just shake hands and make up."

"Never," Keigo scoffed.

"So childish…" Hari sighed.

"Whatever," Keigo said. "Well, see you later, I guess. Dinner sometime this week?"

"Sure," Hari said and looked after Keigo who walked back to his team.

"So, um, he's…interesting?" Ron said.

"Hah," Hari said. "He's a spoiled brat most of the times, but he does have a better side. He's just on his own a lot and he puts up a front to protect himself."

She glanced at them and frowned thoughtfully for a second before she smiled.

"So, just give him a chance, okay?" she said. "He's not as bad as he comes off."

"He reminds me of Malfoy," Ron frowned.

"He's nothing like Malfoy," Hari said a little sharply.

"Fine, fine," Ron said.

"He doesn't get along with Ryoma-san?" Hermione asked after glancing at Ron who was scowling at the ground.

"They're both acting like kids," Hari huffed. "Childish and spoiled kids."

Fred and George laughed while Bill and Charlie smiled amused.

...

Ryoma sighed. He wanted to play, but it wasn't like he could force it. He glanced over at Hari who was talking with Kikumaru both looking focused and determined. Was it bad of him to feel slightly jealous of his sister? The nagging feeling deep in his stomach refused to go away, but he was proud of Hari as well. She had worked hard and grown so much in such a short amount of time. And with that injury she had suffered…well, it was impressive that she was going to be playing in such an important match already.

He scowled when Keigo showed up and right away demanded Hari's attention. He just prowled over and got in her face. How Hari could stand that Monkey King was unbelievable for Ryoma.

He watched as she talked with him for a little bit before rolling her eyes and bringing him over to meet her friends from England. He wondered what they would think about him. It was clear that one of them didn't like him, Ryoma noticed. Ron was frowning and looked like he was remembering something foul. He snorted.

"Come on, Echizen!" Momoshiro said and Ryoma got to his feet and emptied the can of Ponta he had been drinking before throwing the empty can in the nearest trashcan.

"You're really into this, Momo-chan-sempai," Ryoma said.

"We have to support our team!" Momoshiro grinned. "It will be fun to watch Hari-chan play, right?"

"Yeah," Ryoma nodded and looked at Hari who had gone back to Kikumaru.

"She'll do great," Momoshiro said surely. "She's earned it."

"You're right," Ryoma said and smiled slightly.

He still wished he would be playing. He wanted to play, he felt his fingers itch to grab his racket and enter the court. But he took his place with the rest of the team and smiled when Hari glanced over at him. She smiled back and waved at him.

...

"Ignore him, Kikumaru-sempai," Hari said to her friend when Mukahi Gakuto taunted him about his acrobatic play. "You're good. Don't let him get inside your head."

Kikumaru glanced at her and the calm way she looked back at him made him calm down and smile. He reached out to ruffle her hair as he laughed. She swatted his hand away and pulled the now loose hair back into a ponytail.

"Let's do this," Kikumaru said.

"Oh, yeah," Hari grinned and they high-fived.

Mukahi frowned as his taunt was so easily dismissed and he eyed the girl that was their Captain's friend or family member? Well, whatever she was, she was annoying.

"Focus, Mukahi," Oshitari Yushi said.

"Hm," Mukahi narrowed his eyes. "We'll crush them!"

"One set match," the referee called out. "Seigaku's Echizen to serve."

...

 **0-0: Seigaku vs. Hyotei**

...

Hari couldn't help but hear the overpowering cheers from the Hyotei supporters but she could also pick up the cheers from her own team or rather the first years that were being directed by Momoshiro. She felt the small tennis ball in her hand and closed her eyes for a moment.

She knew that Mukahi and Oshitari were both good tennis players and their doubles were one of the strongest pairings that this tournament would see. But she would show them, both she and Kikumaru could do it too.

She bounced the ball before tossing it up and performed her slice serve. It hit hard and the ball flew over the net and away from Mukahi who frowned but Oshitari was there and returned the ball again. Hari was already running knowing that the ball would have a high curve and her arms were stretched out and she could feel the wind and around her as she reached higher and higher before her racket was out and she used a backhand volley to smash the ball to the spot Oshitari just had left and therefore unable to get back in time.

...

 **15** -0: **Seigaku**

...

The surrounding crowd had gone silent before she heard her team and friends cheer. She saw Seiichis proud smile when she turned to get back into position and it had her smile slightly to herself. She also saw the stunned looks on Oshitari's face and the glower on Mukahi's face making her smirk.

"Don't think you're going to take this easily," Hari said glancing over her shoulder at them.

"Go, Hari-chan!" Kikumaru beamed.

...

Seiichi heard the gasps from the people sitting around him and his team. He smiled as he watched Hari calmly getting back to her position and getting ready for another serve. He must admit that he was surprised that she opened with it, but she probably had been annoyed by something the other team had said. He did see the way her eyes had narrowed when Mukahi had talked to Kikumaru before the game started.

"Interesting serve and follow-up," Sanada said.

Seiichi nodded in agreement. He realised that this was the first time he'd really seen her play tennis. It sounded strange, but it was. He, of course, knew she played and that she was good, but he had never actually seen her play. He knew she was being considerate of his injury and how he missed the sport by not talking too much about it or bringing him to the court to practice while he watched.

He kind of wished she had now because he was sure it would have been interesting to watch her play. Though, maybe it was a good thing they hadn't because he wasn't sure he would have been able to keep from playing with her if he were to watch.

"Woah, Hari-chan is good!" Kirihara said excitedly. "I want to play her!"

"She's pretty good, puri," Niou said.

"Good serve, interesting data," Yanagi hummed.

Seiichi didn't pay much attention to his friends talking as he watched Hari but he registered it and knew that Hari just had piqued their interest also as a tennis player.

...

Hermione blinked when she saw the serve from Hari. It was interesting, not that she knew much about tennis or what was good or not. But the way others gasped and then started to whisper together told Hermione that it had been a good serve.

Or at least she thought so.

"Was there flames around her?" Ron muttered to Hermione. "Like serious flames?"

"I don't know," Hermione shrugged. "It's not like it could have been real flames…"

"Awesome!" George said eagerly.

"I agree, good brother!" Fred nodded.

Hermione looked back at the court and Hari was back at the line she had been at before and had another ball in her hand now. She looked so focused and Hermione wondered what she was thinking about.

Hari served the ball once more and it wavered to the left but the blue-haired one on the other team caught it and returned it but this time Hari didn't follow up like she had before but it was Kikumaru who returned the ball. It went high.

Hermione couldn't help but gape when the red-haired one had jumped impossibly high (it was hard to not believe he was flying) and then did a flip-flop in the air so he was falling headfirst toward the ground before he returned the ball over to Hari and Kikumaru's side of the net.

"It's Mukahi's moon-volley!" Someone yelled.

Ron made a sound at the back of his throat as he saw it and she heard the twins make a similar sound as well.

But Kikumaru managed to return it by switching the hand he held the racket and move it behind his back. Not that it was enough because the other one at Hyotei reached it and when Hari went to cover for Kikumaru managed to hit the ball in the opposite direction and out of Hari's reach.

"Aw, too bad," Charlie said calmly.

...

15- **15: Hyotei**

...

Hari frowned as they made the point and stared at Oshitari who was looking back at her. She had noticed that he had changed how he held the racket just a little too late and then he had managed to lob it to where she couldn't reach it.

"I'm sorry, Hari-chan," Kikumaru said looking upset.

"We'll keep fighting," Hari said taking her eyes off Oshitari and smiled at Kikumaru.

"Yes, we will," Kikumaru nodded.

Hari glanced at Kikumaru and saw that he looked a little off somehow and she bit down on her lower lip slightly but didn't say anything as he got into position and she did the same. She made another serve and cursed when Mukahi got the ball and did another acrobatic move and directed the ball toward Kikumaru.

He managed to return the ball by almost flying paralleled with the net but Mukahi mimicked his movements and when he reached the ball to return it Mukahi was there to hit it back just outside of both of their reach.

...

15- **30: Hyotei**

...

The rest of the game continued like this with both Mukahi and Oshitari targeting Kikumaru for their balls probably sensing that he was out of sorts. Hari managed to cover for him a few times but she missed enough to make them lose the first game.

...

0- **1: Hyotei**

...

Hari knew they had to do something because if they continued like this they were going to lose and she refused to lose. She looked at Kikumaru and saw that he looked depressed and she knew the problem. Oishi wasn't here and Kikumaru missed him. But it was more than that as well. It wasn't just missing his old partner but it was the fact that he was so used to playing with Oishi that the absence of him was enough to get him off his game.

"Kikumaru-sempai," Hari walked up to him and he glanced at her and tried to smile.

"Hari-chan," he said. "I'm sorry."

"We'll get the game back," Hari said. "I know I'm not Oishi, and that you're used to having him to back you up. But I'm sure he's on his way to watch us and we should play our best so he doesn't feel guilty for getting hurt. You know how he is. He'll fret and blame himself."

Kikumaru laughed and nodded and she saw his shoulders relax slightly.

"We played well together at practice," Hari continued. "So, just pretend we're back there and doing what we did then. We'll get them back!"

Kikumaru looked at her and nodded.

"Yes, we will," he said. "I'll get my head in the game. I promise."

"I know you will," Hari grinned. "Now, let's show them what we got. They're under the miscomprehension that this will be easy."

...

"Hyotei! Hyotei! Hyotei!"

The chanting went on and one around them as the tennis match continued and even with the little knowledge, Hermione had of the game she could tell that Hari and Kikumaru were struggling to keep up but giving their best.

But Oshitari and Mukahi seemed to be able to return everything that Hari or Kikumaru threw at them.

"Those chants are getting annoying," Ron muttered.

"I agree, they are annoying," Hermione agreed.

Hermione watched as Hari ran the back of her hand over her forehead as she stared at the other side of the court. There was a calculating look on her face as she did so.

"Oh, she's thinking hard now," Fred said.

"They should look out," George smirked. "She's really getting serious now."

"She's been serious the whole time," Hermione frowned at them. "She's doing her best!"

"Oh, we know," George said glancing up at her before looking back at Hari. "But she's close to figuring something out now. She won't let them keep doing what they want much longer."

"And how do you know that?" Bill asked curiously.

"Because she gets that look in her eyes when she plays Quidditch," Fred said. "We've seen it during practice enough times to recognise it. And she always wins when she has been pushed into looking like that."

Hermione shook her head slightly as she looked back at Hari. She had tilted her head a little now and seemed to be studying Oshitari (Hermione had learned his name now). He was the one who seemed to get his balls past Hari the most.

Hermione glanced over to where Seiichi was sitting with his team and saw him watching Hari as well. He was smiling softly and nodded at something the tall one next to him said, Sanada Hermione thought Hari had called him. She couldn't help but wonder what Seiichi was thinking as he watched Hari like that.

She felt…sad. That was what she felt as she watched Hari's boyfriend sitting in the middle of his friends watching Hari. They were cheering for her and looked like they really wished for Hari to win. But she couldn't help the regret that filled her and sadness. She didn't doubt that he liked Hari, it was clear in his violet-blue eyes as he looked at her. But…how could Hari already have a boyfriend? How could so much have changed in just a few months?

If this had happened at Hogwarts she would have been there. She would have seen it and she would have been the one Hari would talk to, they would sit by the fireplace in their common room and gossip and giggle over the boy Hari liked. Hermione would have been there and she would have been part of it, but now… now the boy Hari liked was a stranger and she didn't know anything about him.

Who had liked who first? Who had confessed? Had Hari realised she liked him on her own or had she had help in realising it? Hermione knew all too well that Hari was oblivious when it came to boys. The twins hadn't been joking when they teased her earlier. Both Ernie and Michael did like Hari, Hermione wouldn't be surprised if Draco did like her as well. And when had Hari had her first kiss?

Hermione sighed as she again realised that Hari had changed. She didn't want to think about it, but it was the truth. Hari had changed and Hermione wasn't sure where she fits into the new life Hari had created.

"Seigaku! Seigaku! Seigaku!"

The chanting of Seigaku brought Hermione out of her thoughts and she looked away from Seiichi and back to the court where Hari was high-fiving Kikumaru and both were grinning.

"3- **1: Game Seigaku!** " the referee yelled.

"They won their first game!" Hermione heard some of the first years Hari had introduced to them earlier yell.

...

Hari had figured it out. She had used annoyingly long time doing it as well, and she would be beating herself up over it later but right now they had to focus on getting even and then taking control of the game.

She glanced at Kikumaru who was breathing hard and looked a little frustrated, he had been fighting better but there was still something holding him back.

"What would Oishi tell you if he were here?" Hari asked him.

"Eh?" Kikumaru looked at her.

"Think about what he would say," Hari said. "I know I'm not him so I can't tell you what he normally says to cheer you up and motivate you. So, think about what he would say if he were here watching or playing with you."

Kikumaru stared at her and then looked at his racket.

"He would say to keep fighting and that we would find their weakness if we don't give up," Kikumaru said.

"He's right," Hari said. "And I've noticed something. Oshitari has what's called a closed mind. His body reveals nothing about what he will do. He is skilled at faking tells and he uses it against us. It's messing with my motion vision." She pouted slightly at that.

Kikumaru blinked and looked over at them.

"I see," he said.

"Now, we've won one game," Hari said. "Let's win another!"

...

Hari jumped up getting higher and higher feeling the wind around her as she used a backhand volley to smash the ball out of reach from Oshitari who scowled at her. She landed gracefully again.

...

 **30** -15: **Seigaku**

...

Kikumaru ran behind her and she smiled as he caught another difficult ball and returned it with an acrobatic move. Mukahi let out a frustrated scream as he glared at Kikumaru and both Hyotei players looked like they were breathing harder now.

...

 **40** -15: **Seigaku**

...

The ball rallied back and forth for several rounds and Hari ran and knew Kikumaru followed up behind her. She saw how Oshitari moved his legs like he was going to hit the ball to the right close to where the room Kikumaru had left was, but Hari knew he could fake it. He probably was faking it, so she held back and when he hit the ball it went in the other direction she wasn't surprised. She ran and using her speed and agility she managed to get close enough to throw herself forward and get the racket out in front of her so she reached the ball. She managed to lob it so it just fell right over the net before Mukahi managed to get to it.

She crashed to the ground and slid several meters.

"Hari-chan!" she heard several people shout.

Hari grimaced slightly as she tried to catch her breath again. She looked up when Kikumaru was there and looking at her worriedly. She smiled and accepted his hand when he offered it and got back to her feet.

"You okay?" Kikumaru asked.

"Just got the air knocked out of me," she smiled. "Nothing to worry about."

He looked a little doubtful but nodded and smiled.

"Nice return," he said.

...

 **4** -3: **Game Seigaku**

...

Keigo frowned as he watched as Hari and Kikumaru turned the score around and was now in the lead. He was not sure what to think, but he was impressed by Hari. She really was good and she managed to bring Kikumaru out of his funk. The two balanced each other pretty well, Keigo thought. If only Hari had transferred over to his school…He sighed.

He had not been surprised that Hari had done so well. She was after all his god-sister (he didn't care if there was something like that or not), and that meant that she was the best.

His eyes drifted over to the friends she had introduced to him earlier and saw them cheering for Hari and looking like they had fun watching her. Especially the twins seemed to be really into the game, they were practically bouncing in their seats. They had a part of Hari to, all those years they had known her and he couldn't help but feel jealous.

He grimaced. He hated that feeling, but it came up so often when it came to Hari. She was someone he really liked and she was family, but the regret for the years they had missed, the closeness they could have shared was always there in the back of his mind. So, seeing more people who Hari was close with was not fun.

Keigo was used to getting what he wanted, but Hari was stubborn and not letting him do as he wished. He wouldn't admit it, but it did feel refreshing to have someone who dared to tell him no. It sounded strange, but it was the truth. Hari still spent time with him and he knew she did it because she wanted to and not because he scared her into it. Something inside of him relaxed just knowing that.

His eyes drifted to Yukimura Seiichi who was smiling as he watched Hari. The boyfriend. Keigo scowled. He knew Seiichi. They had played each other several times over the last couple of years, before his injury of course. And he knew that Seiichi was a good guy, but that didn't mean he was good enough for Hari. " _I hear you have a boyfriend," Keigo said._

 _They had dinner together and Hari was just finishing her fries when Keigo brought the boyfriend up. She sighed and looked at him with a defiant look in her eyes._

" _Yeah, I do," she said. "So?"_

" _Who says that Yukimura is good enough for you?" Keigo scowled. "He's not."_

" _And why isn't he?" Hari arched a brow._

" _He's…"_

" _He's kind, warm and smart," Hari interrupted. "He talks with me and not at me, he is interested in hearing what I have to say and he makes an effort in calling and being there for me even when he lives in another city and is busy with school and his own life. So, why isn't he good enough?"_

" _You deserve the best," Keigo said frowning._

" _I deserve respect and to be treated like that," Hari said, "and Seiichi deserves the same. We all deserve that, and I have that. I like Seiichi and he likes me. That's enough."_

Keigo sighed as he remembered the conversation he'd had with Hari about Seiichi. It had not gone like he thought it would, but Hari had not let him talk and wouldn't listen to him telling her that Seiichi wasn't good enough. Though, he had to admit that she did bring up good points and Keigo had backed down knowing that he wouldn't get her to change her mind. She was annoyingly stubborn that way.

He looked back to the court and frowned when he noticed that his team was under again and that Hari and Kikumaru just took another game. He really got a bad feeling about this game. He glanced at their coach and saw that he sat rigid and stone-faced. Keigo grimaced. The talk after practice was not going to be pleasant.

...

 **5** -3: **Game Seigaku**

...

"Seigaku! Seigaku! Go, go Seigaku!"

Ryoma smiled as he watched Hari and Kikumaru fight and run and return balls back over the net. He looked at Mukahi who was breathing harder than before and looked to be missing simple balls. He hummed as he arched a brow.

"I see, so that's how it is," Ryoma said.

He had been dragged down with Momoshiro to stand with the rest of the team instead of sitting by himself like he had wanted to. He watches Hari smile as she returned another ball by using part of her Phoenix Rising even when she didn't serve.

"He's not that tough, is he?" Fuji said looking at Mukahi. "He's tired."

"Probably not used to being pushed this much," Kawamura said.

Ryoma agreed but didn't say anything as he focused on the match. He still felt a little disappointed that he wouldn't be playing; he knew he was good enough and he really wanted to try himself against someone from Hyotei. Though, he was able to forget it as he watched Hari play. She was good and she really had proved herself as a doubles player today as well.

"You okay, Echizen?" Fuji asked.

"Yeah," Ryoma said.

Fuji glanced at him before he nodded and looked back at Hari. "She never stops surprising us, does she?"

"Never," Ryoma smirked.

Ryoma looked to the side where Hari's friends sat and saw that Yoshida had sat down next to Hermione and seemed to be explaining something to her. Probably explaining the game as Ryoma knew they didn't know much about tennis.

...

"They only need to win one more game," Yoshida explained to Hermione and Ron. The others listened in as well.

"Really?" Ron asked.

"Yes," Yoshida said. "They should avoid giving the other team another game, though. They have to win by two games or risk going into a tiebreak."

"Hopefully, they won't need to do that," Hermione said.

"Hari-chan and Kikumaru-san both seem to have more energy than their opponents right now," Yoshida said. "But in tennis things can change very quickly."

Hermione nodded thoughtfully as she glanced over at the girl who had come over to sit with them. She had introduced herself as Yoshida Satomi.

"How do you know Hari?" Hermione asked.

"We met when she joined the girls' tennis team," Yoshida said looking over at Hari at the court. "And she helped me when I struggled with some things and suggested that I became the manager for the boys' team."

Hermione knew there was missing a lot from the story but she didn't push. If the other girl didn't want to talk about it then Hermione didn't know her well enough to push her.

"So, you're Hari's friend," Ron said.

"I don't know about that," Yoshida said sadly. "I see her as my friend, but I'm not sure she really sees me as hers. I…hurt her when she was on the girls' team."

Hermione and Ron exchanged looks before looking at Yoshida.

"She sees you as her friend," Hermione said and Yoshida blinked at her. "Hari isn't one to hold grudges for long, not if she sees someone change or try to make up for whatever it is. If she helped you as you said then you can be pretty sure she sees you as a friend."

Yoshida blinked again before she smiled and looked back at Hari.

...

 **6** -3: **Game Seigaku!**

...

"We did it!" Kikumaru exclaimed happily and Hari grinned and laughed when Kikumaru pounced on her and hugged her tightly. She patted his back and pulled back still laughing and smiling. The victory felt really good.

"Yes!"

"Seigaku! Seigaku!"

"Hari-chan! Kikumaru-sempai!"

She heard the cheers from the rest of the team and her friends making her grin even more. She looked over at the Mukahi and Oshitari who looked shocked and pained and she did feel slightly sorry for them, mostly Oshitari because he was actually polite (most of the time) and seemed to be a good enough guy. Mukahi annoyed her. He was arrogant and always talked like he was better than everyone and Hari didn't like that, so she didn't feel too bad to show him that others were good as well.

They shook hands and Hari walked over to the rest of the team with Kikumaru and grinned when Oishi was there and smiled proudly at her. He patted her shoulder with a smile and nod making her smile back.

"Good game," Ryuzaki said joining them. "But it will mean little if we slack off now. We're going to enter the Nationals this year, got it?"

"Yes!" they answered.

...

"Congratulations," Seiichi smiled when Hari skipped over to him and accepted the hug and kiss on the cheek from him. She grinned.

"Thanks," she said. "I'm glad you were here to see it."

"So am I," Seiichi said.

"It…it wasn't too difficult for you, was it?" Hari asked concerned. "I know you really want to…"

"Hey," he interrupted her, "it wasn't difficult, Hari-chan. I do watch my team practice tennis, you know, and I'm here as the coach for this tournament."

"I know," Hari said nodding. "I just don't want to make it more difficult for you…"

"I know," he smiled and laughingly pushed another escaped strand of her hair out of her face and behind her ear. "I really am starting to believe that your hair has a life on its own."

Hari snorted and pushed him playfully but he just tightened his arms around her and hugged her closer.

"I really am happy that I got to watch you play," Seiichi said. "You were amazing. I can't wait until I'm well enough so we can play each other as well."

"You want to play me?" Hari asked wide-eyed pulling back slightly so she could look up at him.

"Of course," he said.

Hari grinned. "That would be awesome."

Before he could say anything else several voices interrupted them.

"Hari!" she turned her head and saw Ron and Hermione coming toward them with the other four close behind. Seiichi let go of her and stepped back slightly.

Hermione immediately hugged her.

"Hey," Hari said when Hermione let go of her. "What did you think about tennis now then?"

"It's awesome!" Fred said. "You…"

"…are really," George interrupted.

"…good!" they finished together.

"Congratulations on the win, Hari," Hermione said smiling at her and Hari noticed how she glanced at Seiichi who was standing right behind Hari watching them.

"Yeah, mate, you're amazing," Ron smiled also eying Seiichi but didn't say anything.

"Thanks," Hari said shyly and happily.

Seiichi stepped up beside her and Hari reached out to take his hand in hers and she felt him squeeze it gently as she did. She smiled and glanced at him.

"Your friend Yoshida-san sat with us for a bit," Hermione said. "She helped explain the game for us since we're not really that good at the rules and things."

Hari blinked and looked over to where Yoshida was talking with Inui who looked focused. She knew he was going to be playing next.

"I see," Hari smiled. "That's good. Yoshida is nice."

"She is," Hermione nodded.

...

"Hari-chan!"

Hari looked away from her friends when she heard the familiar voice of An. She heard Seiichi chuckle slightly and shot him a confused look but he just smiled.

"An-chan!" Hari smiled when the energetic girl came closer and soon she had the girl attached around her neck in a tight hug, she didn't care that Seiichi was attached to her hand.

"You did great!" An said excitedly. "I got to watch the end! It was amazing! Kippei-nii-chan also said so. He said to tell you 'good game'. He had to go, though, because they're playing soon."

"Thank you," Hari said. "Tell him too, will you?"

"Of course," An said. "Or you can tell him next time you're over at my house."

"Sure," Hari agreed. "Oh, meet my friends."

An seemed to only now notice that there were people around Hari and the boy holding her hand. She grinned.

"Ah, you must be the boyfriend," she said looking at Seiichi who smiled politely back at her. An arched a brow and looked him over with a serious look before she grinned and shot a teasing look at Hari. "You'll do."

Hari groaned. "An-chan!"

Seiichi just laughed and bowed politely at An.

"Nice to meet you, Tachibana-san," he said. "Hari-chan has told me a lot about you."

"I would hope so," An said. "And just call me An, if you're sticking around for Hari-chan then I'm sure we'll end up becoming friends. Though, don't hurt her."

"An-chan," Hari whined. "Stop it. Now, meet my friends from England."

Again Hari listed their names before looking back at An.

"And this is Tachibana An," Hari finished. "She attends Fudomine Middle School."

"Nice to meet you!" An smiled. "It's nice to meet Hari-chan friends from England."

"Nice to meet you too," Hermione smiled back and looked between her and Hari.

"Yeah, nice to meet you," Ron nodded with a small smile but it fell from his face fast.

Fred and George both nodded at her before they walked over to Niou who looked eager to talk to them again.

Bill and Charlie nodded and smiled at An who waved.

"Um, Hari-chan?" the timid voice of Sakuno interrupted.

"You're popular today," Seiichi commented.

Hari rolled her eyes at him and smiled as she looked at Sakuno.

"Hey, Sakuno-chan," she said. "What's up?"

"Um…It's Ryoma-kun," Sakuno said.

"Ryo-chan?" Hari blinked.

"He left and we can't find him," Sakuno said looking worried. "He was quiet and didn't answer when Momo-chan-sempai asked where he was going…"

Hari sighed as she frowned.

"I see," Hari said. "Well, I'll look for him. I think I have an idea where he could be. Thank you, Sakuno-chan."

Hari looked at An and her friends. An smiled.

"I'll have to go back to my brother and his team now anyway," she said. "I'll call you later, okay?"

"Good," Hari nodded.

"I'll be back," Hari told the others. "I just have to find Ryo-chan."

"Okay," Seiichi said.

"Need help looking?" Ron asked.

"Nah, it's fine," Hari said. "Besides, I think I probably should talk to him alone."

...

Hari found Ryoma at one of the practice grounds bouncing balls off a wall. She stood watching him for a moment and smiled slightly. It had been a while since she had just watched Ryoma play or practice. She had missed it.

"I know you're there, Hari," Ryoma finally spoke up.

"I wasn't trying to hide," Hari said. "What are you doing here?"

"Just felt like playing," Ryoma said.

Hari nodded.

"I know you must be disappointed at not being able to play," Hari said.

"It's fine," Ryoma said.

"You're allowed to be disappointed, Ryo-chan," Hari said stepping closer.

Ryoma glanced at her.

"Horio told me he thought I was sulking," Ryoma said. "But I'm not."

Hari arched a brow, "I know you're not."

"I am happy you got to play," he continued. "You were good. Really good. I'm sure Oyaji would have been proud seeing you play."

Hari smiled slightly and before Ryoma could move she threw an arm over his shoulder and ruffled his hair with the other making his cap fall off his head.

"Oi, Hari…" Ryoma whined.

"Come on, Ryo-chan," Hari smiled. "Come and watch Inui-sempai and Ka-chan play with me."

"You'll watch with your friends and boyfriend, though," Ryoma said.

"You can watch with us too, you know," Hari looked at him. "You're my brother."

Ryoma looked at her and smiled a little making Hari hide a relieved smile on her own. He had been worried about her forgetting him, she knew it. She just hoped that he would see that she still needed him, wanted him to be there as well.

"Come on," Ryoma said and Hari grinned.

"Let's go!" She declared making Ryoma laugh and she linked her arm through his.

 **...**

 **...**

 **AN:** **What do you think? XD**

 **So very sorry for the delay in updating this story! I must admit that I struggled with this chapter. I never got it right and I can't tell you how many times I rewrote it. I just couldn't get the balance between the match and happenings around the match to be the way I wanted it. So, I know it's not my best chapter. I just couldn't get it better and decided to just post it. So, sorry about that. Hopefully, you'll enjoy it either way. :)**

 **Thank you so much for your patience and for your support of this story! XD XD**

 **Japanese words used:**  
 **Oyaji - Old man/dad**  
 **Nii-chan - older brother**  
 **Sempai - upperclassman**


	40. Seigaku vs Hyotei part 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Prince of Tennis!**

 **...**

 **...**

 **...**

Hari and Ryoma came back to the courts where Kaido and Inui were getting ready to play just in time. She was even happy to see that Seiichi and the others had moved so they were seated behind her team. It made it easier for her to spend time with Seiichi and still be with her team (or at least very close to them).

She quickly looked around and saw Hermione and Ron standing with Yoshida who looked like she was talking with Hermione. She smiled slightly.

"I'll just get Ron and Hermione over here," Hari told Ryoma.

"Alright," he nodded.

Hari broke into a jog as she left her brother in order to get her friends. She noticed that the twins and Bill and Charlie were missing.

"Hey," Hari smiled. "Yoshida-san, thank you for helping my friends."

"No problem, Hari-chan," Yoshida smiled. "I enjoyed talking to them."

"She has been very helpful," Hermione said making Yoshida blush lightly and smile. "You found Ryoma-san?"

"Yeah," Hari said. "Do you want to come and watch with me and the others over there?" She nodded toward where the rest of her team stood and Seiichi and the others had gathered.

"Oh, if you're sure," Hermione said.

"We don't want to intrude," Ron said looking a little bitter making Hari glance at him before she shook her head.

"You won't be intruding," Hari said. "I want you to come. It will be more fun to watch together."

"Okay," Ron nodded.

"Where are the twins and Bill and Charlie?" Hari asked.

"They decided to wander around a little," Hermione said.

"I see," Hari nodded. She hoped the twins refrained from doing any more magical pranks. She really did need to talk to them about it. She shook the thoughts away deciding that she would worry about that later as she looked at Yoshida. "Come on, Yoshida. You'll join us as well, right?"

She looked a little surprised but she soon nodded and smiled. Hari frowned slightly as she wondered about the surprise she had seen. Had she really neglected the other girl that much? Maybe she had…she felt a flash of guilt go through her and made a mental note to be sure to talk to her more and maybe invite her with her when she went to meet An and/or Sakuno.

...

"You're back," Seiichi said when Hari sat down beside him.

"Of course," Hari smiled as he reached over and took her hand in his.

"Echizen," Seiichi said looking away from Hari and to Ryoma who was standing in front of them and looked pensive as he watched them.

"Yukimura," Ryoma answered.

"So formal," Hari sighed but smiled when the two glanced at her.

...

"Hyotei! Hyotei! Hyotei!"

The annoying chants continued and Hari wondered if she would be in too much trouble if she cast a silence-spell on them. Maybe it would be worth it…

"So annoying," Ron muttered next to her. "If only there was a way to make them shut up…"

"Agreed," Momoshiro said glancing over his shoulder as he looked up at them.

"Go, Ka-chan!" Hari suddenly yelled making Ron jump slightly and glare at her but she only smiled innocently back at him before she turned back to the court and smiled and waved to Kaido who glanced toward her and allowed a small smile to cross his face as he did so.

"Ka-chan?" Bunta asked curiously. "Why do you call him that?"

"He looks like a Ka-chan;" Hari shrugged.

Ryoma snorted. "She's the only one he'll allow to call him that. Someone else tried once…he almost hit them."

Hari laughed and nodded. She wasn't sure why Kaido allowed her to call him that, maybe he just didn't want to take the fight to get her to stop. If it truly bothered him, she would stop.

...

The match was exciting and tiring. It looked like the Hyotei pair, Otori and Shishido, had full control over the game. It was almost painful to watch as Kaido played almost on his own, refusing to allow them to get their points for free as he fought with everything he had. But she knew and so did Seiichi if his comments were anything to go by, that it wasn't so easy.

"That Sadaharu," Yanagi had smiled when Inui got involved in the game again and it was revealed that Kaido had played in his own for five games in order for Inui to get the data he needed to play.

"What did he do?" Ron asked confused. "Why didn't he help for those five games?"

Hari smiled as she looked over at her friend. "Inui-senpai plays what we call data-tennis."

"Data-tennis?" Hermione asked.

"He has collected a lot of data about everyone from his own team to our opponents," Hari started to explain. "He uses that data to predict the game; he mentally simulates the course of the match I guess you could say. He can predict a lot of what types of shots the other player will use and where they will hit it, it is great in order to get in their heads. You can already see Shishido and Otori start to hesitate because they are worried he will be prepared."

"Annoying data-tennis," Ryoma muttered.

"And of course, he has used it against Ryo-chan," Hari smirked.

"I still won," Ryoma hugged and crossed his arms over his chest. "But I never want to play him again."

Seiichi smiled amused and Hari laughed at the look on Ryoma's face. She knew what he thought about the way Inui played.

"But should you really go into detail about this now?" Ron asked suddenly.

"Eh? Why not?" Hari looked at him confused.

"Well, aren't Yukimura and the others here on a rival team?" Hermione asked looking at Hari and then at Seiichi and the rest of his team.

"So?" Hari still looked confused.

"So why let them in on how one of your players work?" Ron asked.

Hari rolled her eyes before she glanced over at Seiichi who looked amused as well.

"Yeah, Hari-chan?" he said. "You just gave us very valuable information."

Hari laughed surprising her friends while Ryoma rolled his eyes.

"Like you didn't already know that," Hari said and looked over at Yanagi Renji who turned his head curiously toward her.

"Oh?" he said his face rather impassively but she saw the small trace of amusement on his face.

"You're just like him, aren't you?" she smirked.

Seiichi shook his head, "you sure know my team."

"I did some research," Hari shrugged and glanced at him before she blushed slightly. "Um…before… well, right after we met."

Seiichi smile widen and he leaned in and kissed her quickly making her blush even more but the pleased look in his eyes had the butterflies in her stomach go crazy and a warm feeling filled her chest. She felt like she had just done something very right.

She bit lightly down at her lower lip as she looked away and back to the game. She was aware of the looks she got from her friends and did her best to ignore them. She did smile a little when Hermione nudged her shoulder.

...

"Too bad," Hari sighed.

"It was a good fight," Fuji said.

"Yes," Tezuka agreed still looking stoically at the court.

Hari watched as Kaido and Inui walked off the court to stand in front of Ryuzaki who was watching her two players with a searching look. Hari didn't hear what she said, though.

"But why?" Kirihara whined again. "Why did he tell the referee about the ball being out when the referee didn't see it?!"

"That's just Inui-senpai," Hari said patiently. "He is honest to a fault, and it's good. It's better to win when you've earned it instead of winning because of a mistake like that. It would taint the win if they had gone all the way like that."

"But," Kirihara frowned.

"It's fine, Akaya," Yagyuu said patting his younger teammate on the shoulder.

Hari smiled as she felt Seiichi play with her hair and turned slightly to look at him and met his smiling eyes. The casual way he did it and how at ease he looked had her shift closer to him before turning her attention back to the world around her again just in time to spot Kaido running off. She was not surprised because she knew he needed to get the frustration from the loss out, he really did hate to lose.

"Oh! Look who's here!" Hari grinned having noticed the two St. Rudolph players coming up behind them. "Yuta-chan and Yanagisawa-san!"

"Hari-chan," Yuta nodded and eyed Seiichi before looking away from him.

"You come to cheer on your brother?" Hari asked with a smirk.

"No way," Yuta blushed.

"Ouch, you hurt me," Fuji said but he sounded amused. "Nice to see you, Yuta."

"Whatever," Yuta muttered.

Hari noticed the curious looks from Ron and Hermione so she introduced them to Yuta who greeted them politely after throwing Hari a curious look, again ignoring Seiichi who arched a brow but didn't say anything.

...

"Strong," Sanada commented when Kawamura lifted up the flag with one hand like it was nothing when normally you'd have to use both hands and still struggle to lift it never mind moving it.

"He'll need it when playing Kabaji," Hari said with a smile.

"It will be interesting to watch," Sanada said.

Hari glanced at her boyfriend's best friend. She had met Sanada several times before, of course, but she still was a little unsure about what he thought about her. She hoped that he liked her, but he was always so stoic and had a perfect blank mask that revealed nothing of what he was thinking. It bugged her because she really wanted him to approve of her and she had no idea what he was thinking.

"Genichiro is always interested in a good match," Seiichi said amused.

"Oh…I see," Hari said before getting distracted by the commotion over at the Hyotei side of the court where Kabaji had lifted their sleeping player, Akutagawa Jiro and was rudely awoken to hang in mid-air. Hari snorted.

"Keigo wants to show off," she said rolling her eyes as she glanced over at Keigo. He was smirking slightly and looked smug.

"That does sound like him," Seiichi agreed.

"He should just focus on his tennis," Sanada said.

Hari smiled and nodded.

...

Hari had been talking with Ron and Hermione, explaining the ongoing match, when she suddenly stopped talking and got to her feet. Her hand still connected with Seiichi who glanced at her when he felt her tightening her hold on it almost painfully. He frowned when he saw the almost scared look on her face.

"No," she whispered. "Kawamura-senpai…don't!"

Seiichi looked to the court and his eyes widened when he saw the stance that Kawamura had taken. He understood why Hari reacted as she did now, but her friends didn't if the confused looks they shot her were any indication.

An uneasy murmuring went through some of the Seigaku players in front of him as well and it was clear that they all saw the danger that Kawamura just took.

"A single-handed Hadoukyuu?!" Arai yelled.

"He copied that too?" Hari heard Shiba exclaim referring to Kabaji who copied the stance from Kawamura.

Hari worried her lower lip as she stared at the court with anxious eyes. She was vaguely aware that Seiichi was squeezing her hand reassuringly but she could only watch as the ball flew back toward Kawamura who took the stance again to return the ball with the one-handed Hadoukyuu...

"Kawamura! Stop!" Ryuzaki yelled.

Hari breathed out relieved as Kawamura did as the coach said and the ball passed him. She felt like she had been holding her breath for a long time as she watched Kawamura stand in front of Ryuzaki who was looking stern.

"Taka-san did something reckless," Kikumaru said.

"Good thing coach stopped him," Oishi said relieved. "Who knows how the match would have turned out if he kept going…"

"Hmm…I wonder…" Ryoma spoke up.

Hari glanced at him and saw the others do the same. Ryoma looked worried and pensive as he stared at the court, well more precisely at Kawamura. Hari frowned and glanced at Kawamura as well and she suddenly felt a wave of new worry. The look on his face…

"No way," she muttered. "He wouldn't…"

"Hari?" Hermione asked worriedly.

She ignored her as she took a step closer to the court but stopped as the hand connecting her to Seiichi prevented her from moving closer. She didn't want to let go of him.

She heard the gaps around her as she watched along with everyone as Kawamura fought and went into a one-handed Hadoukyuu battle with Kabaji who returned it every time. She knew just by looking that Kawamura was serious and that he was fighting something else as well. He was always so loyal and sweet, but with a tennis racket in hand, he changed into a more intense person who was even more loyal.

She couldn't look away. It was impossible to look away from the determination and almost desperate fight going on in front of her. She heard Kikumaru and Oishi call out worriedly but she didn't pay them any attention.

"Stupid…" Hari mumbled as she watched as Kabaji let go of his racket and declared that he couldn't play anymore. She heard the confusion around her but her eyes moved over to Kawamura, because if Kabaji had to give up then she knew Kawamura was the same… her eyes widened when she saw the blood dripping from his hand as he too let go of his racket.

The sound of the racket hitting the ground echoed around the stunned silence.

...

Hari let go of Seiichi's hand and jumped down the few steps until she was by the small stone wall that separated them from the court. She jumped over and jogged over to Kawamura who looked a little lost as he stood there just staring ahead of himself.

"Senpai," Hari said gently as she reached out to take his hand. "Ouch."

"Hari-chan," Kawamura blinked. "I'm fine."

"Right," she said glancing up at him and then back down at his hand seeing all the blood. She gently led him back to the others who all looked worriedly at them.

"Taka-san," Kikumaru said worriedly.

"I'm sorry," Kawamura said. "I didn't win."

Hari turned his hand so they saw the injury. "You sure did your best, senpai."

"Hari-chan is right," Tezuka said and Kawamura looked at him before he nodded.

Hari noticed Ryuzaki coming over and Kawamura turned to her and apologized for ignoring her orders. Ryuzaki just stared at her for a moment before she flicked his forehead making him wince.

"Ouch," he said.

"Someone help cool off Kawamura's hand!" Ryuzaki ordered.

Hari nodded and started to move when she noticed Fuji picking up Kawamura's racket. She arched a brow at the serious look on Fuji's face as he stared at Kawamura.

"Taka-san," he said. "Can I use this racket?"

Hari smiled as she realised what he wanted.

...

Hari had stepped back to Seiichi and the others when Ryuzaki had come to check on Kawamura's hand.

"You okay?" Seiichi asked.

"I'm fine," Hari gave him a small smile as she took his hand again.

"And Kawamura?" Seiichi glanced over at the other boy who was now looking a little sheepish as he let the injured hand fall to his side.

"He'll be okay," Hari said.

"He's a lot like you, isn't he?" Ron commented. "To play until you're injured like that?"

Hari frowned as she glanced over at him. She knew he was talking about her Quidditch injuries that had come from her pushing herself.

"Hari-chan does that too?" Bunta asked around the bubble-gum.

Hari shook her head but didn't answer as Ryuzaki just called out to Hyotei's side of the court and asked if she should bring Kabaji to the hospital as well. Hari watched as Keigo arched a brow but didn't say anything as the coach agreed and bowed in thanks after telling Kabaji to go.

"Then, who will be the bench coach in my stead?" Ryuzaki asked.

Hari was sure she was the only one who had noticed Ryoma walking over to the bench and already taking his seat even before Ryuzaki was done talking. She laughed making Seiichi glance at her as the others startled in surprise.

"Eh?" Hermione blinked. "When did he…"

Hari laughed even more as the others noticed Ryoma who was staring determinedly at Fuji. While Ryuzaki watched silently for a moment. Inui was muttering to himself while Kaido muttered something about an idiot.

"Ryo-chan is awesome," Hari grinned.

"He got some nerve," Sanada nodded. "I'll give him that."

Seiichi smiled amused but didn't say what he was thinking as he watched Hari's little brother. His interest in him just went up.

When Kikumaru and Momoshiro walked up to try to get Ryoma away from the bench Hari really started to laugh and leaned against Seiichi in order to stay standing.

"They are too amusing," she laughed.

"But why would he want to sit there?" Hermione asked.

"Shouldn't your Captain sit there?" Ron asked.

Hari tried to calm down and ignored the amused look from Seiichi as she wiped away her tears.

"He can't forget the match he played against Shu-chan," Hari said. "They didn't get to finish because it started to rain, so they never knew who won. Ryo-chan is very curious about Shu-chan's skills and wants to watch him play close-hand."

"But still…"

"Look, Shu-chan will decide," Hari shrugged. "He'll probably not have anything against Ryo-chan being the bench coach."

...

Yuta watched his brother play and felt the same feeling of awe and resentment fill him. Though, now the awe was bigger than the resentment. It was always special to watch Fuji play and now he was serious as well. He knew it was because of Kawamura and how far he pushed himself.

His eyes moved to Ryoma who was watching Fuji with an intense look in his eyes as he sat on the bench. Yuta couldn't believe that Ryoma actually had the guts to sit down on the bench like that, he was just a first-year after all! But Ryoma didn't care about that. Yuta couldn't help but admire that about him.

Almost unwillingly did his eyes move further back to where Hari was standing. She was back to stand beside that boy, Yukimura Seiichi… His stomach clenched as he watched their connected hands and the way Hari leaned against him. She was smiling as she talked with him and he laughed softly.

He couldn't say that he knew Seiichi. He had only watched him play once before he got injured and had to take a break from tennis. But there had always been something unapproachable about him despite his always polite look of interest and frailness that surrounded him. But now…now he looked more open and like he was content. And it was because of her. He swallowed as he noticed the shining green eyes and smile that lit up her face, he felt his cheeks warm as he watched unable to look away… why was she…

"Yuta?" Yanagisawa asked confused.

Yuta looked away and turned so that his face was hidden from his friend's view cursing himself for allowing himself to get caught staring at Hari.

"What?" he grunted.

"…"Yanagisawa frowned.

Yuta focused on his brother again who was causing much talk about his disappearing serve… and Yuta had to admit that it was a very good serve. He had never seen anything like it before.

...

"Why is your brother on the bench?" Bill asked.

Hari glanced to the side and saw Bill, Charlie and the twins coming toward them. She smiled before turning back to the game. It was an interesting one. Both Fuji and Akutagawa were strong players and the better Fuji got the more excited Jiro became and answered in kind.

"Coach had to take Kawamura-senpai to the hospital," Hari explained. "So, Ryo-chan took the spot as bench coach."

She blinked before gasping along with the others when Fuji returned a ball from Jiro and it somehow ended up in Fuji's hands after bouncing just inside the opposite baseline, giving the point to Fuji and leaving everyone shocked.

"What…?" Hari blinked.

"Hakugei," Seiichi said. "Impressive."

"As expected of Fuji, though;" Sanada said.

...

"He's good," Charlie said.

"Shu-chan is amazing," Hari nodded. "I knew he was downplaying his skills when I played him…"

Hari pouted slightly.

"You played him?" Kirihara asked excitedly as he bounced in his seat not taking his eyes off Fuji or the game.

"When I joined their team," Hari said. "Tezuka-Captain told me to play Shu-chan to see what I could do."

"Did you win?" Fred asked.

"Me? No way," Hari snorted. "Shu-chan won."

"But you're…" George said frowning.

Hari glanced at them before she smiled slightly, "I am still learning and growing, but I'm better than I was. But Fuji is on Ryo-chan's level, so I don't know when I'll be able to beat him. But one day, I will!"

Seiichi chuckled and Hari looked at him, "and you too! One day!"

"I'll look forward to it," Seiichi smiled.

Hari grinned before looking back at the game. Fuji was controlling it and seemed to be giving everything (though probably not) he got. She was curious and excited just thinking about just how good Fuji was. She couldn't help but wonder what would happen if he were to play against Nanjiro?

...

In the end, Fuji won the match 6-1 and Hari wasn't the only one cheering as Fuji stared at Kawamura's racket. 7p

"He did it!"

"Fuji-senpai!"

Hari glanced over at Yuta and saw him watching his brother with a determined look on his face and she knew he had just decided to beat Fuji in tennis once more. She didn't worry about it this time because he now knew how to separate the game from the person and she was sure that Fuji and Yuta would still talk and be brothers.

"I can't believe that tennis is this exciting!" George said.

"We looked around earlier and there were so many games and so many who had fun," Fred nodded.

Hari smiled as she listened to them.

"Hari! Teach us!" Fred and George said at the same time turning pleading looks at her.

"Eh?" Hari blinked.

"Teach us tennis!" Fred said.

"Yeah!" George nodded.

"Well…" Hari said. "I guess I could…but not now."

"Oh…but you will, right?"

"Yes," Hari said before a thought hit her and she smiled. "Maybe Otou-chan can help as well."

Seiichi arched a brow at her, "he would?"

"It might distract him from me long enough to go and meet you," Hari smirked.

Seiichi laughed and playfully tugged at her hair. "Minx."

"What? I think it's perfectly justified to use his love for tennis in order to meet my boyfriend," Hari said. "He's being way too overprotective and stupid about it."

Seiichi shook his head but smiled at her. She looked back at the twins who were looking at her for a moment before they snorted.

"Fine," they said. "We'll be your decoys. But it will cost you."

...

Hari walked with Seiichi and her two best friends from England, it was a little break before the match between Tezuka and Keigo would start so Hari thought that moving around a little bit would be a good idea. The discussion about the matches they had seen flew freely and Hari felt happy seeing Ron and Hermione interacting with Seiichi and asking questions and him answering them with patience and kindness.

She squeezed his hand as they walked and talked smiling as he returned the squeeze but continued to explain what Fuji had done in his match to make his serve disappear.

Suddenly Hari felt dizzy and her head hurt making her grimace as her stomach rolled unpleasantly. She noticed Seiichi stop talking and look at her making her push it back and try to smile.

"Need the bathroom," she said.

"Alright," Seiichi said but looked a little worried.

Hari was glad to see the public bathrooms were close and as quickly as she dared made her way toward them and slipped inside. There was already a group of teenage girls there giggling but she ignored them as she noticed an empty stall and slipped into it.

She put the toilet seat down before she sank down to it and leaned forward resting her head in her hands. It throbbed painfully almost making her vision blackout and a strange feeling filled her gut, it was almost like obsession and impatience. What was even stranger was that the feelings felt completely detached from hers, like it wasn't her feelings at all.

She shot off the toilet and barely managed to get the toilet seat up before she emptied her stomach into the toilet as her stomach contracted violently. The acidic-like stench of vomit filled the stall and she was vaguely aware of the cries of 'ew!' coming from somewhere but it was impossible to register it as she heaved despite there being nothing left to come out. She felt clammy and gross as the stench was overpowering and she tried not to look at the gross mess in the toilet. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand before grimacing and grabbed some paper to dry it off.

She felt weak like she had run miles and had no more energy to use but she forced her legs to stand and was pleased that they actually listened to her command even though they were shaking quite a lot. She managed to flush it down and slapped the toilet seat back down as she sank down at it again.

Her head was pounding something fierce and she felt her stomach do a valiant effort to contract again but it subsided and she closed her eyes as she tried to ignore the gross taste in her mouth. She tried to will down the headache as well and was pleased to note that it was starting to fade just as fast as it had come.

With an effort she stood and moved out of the stall and was pleased to see (and not surprised) that the bathroom was empty. The girls had been scared off. Luckily. Hari made her way to the sink and put the water on and quickly and eagerly rinsed her mouth from that disgusting after-taste from her mouth before looking up at the mirror and was shocked to see how pale she was.

The door opened and Hari saw Hermione entering looking worried. When she saw her standing leaned over the sink her eyes widened and she hurried over to her.

...

"Hari!" Hermione said. "What's wrong?"

"Feel sick," Hari said weakly.

Hermione reached out and put a hand on her forehead and felt it. She frowned slightly.

"You feel clammy, but I don't think you have a fever," Hermione said.

Hari just groaned and splashed water on her face. It felt surprisingly good, cool and refreshing. She repeated it and sighed slightly.

"Are you okay?" Hermione asked concerned. "Should we take you home? Maybe call Rinko-san?"

Hari shook her head and was pleased to note that it didn't hurt as much anymore.

"No," Hari said. "I'm fine."

"Hari," Hermione said exasperatedly. "You're not fine!"

"Yes, I am," Hari said stubbornly. "I'm already feeling better."

It was true. She still felt slightly weak and knew she should get something to eat, though the food didn't really tempt her at the moment. She washed her face before turning off the water again glad to see that some colour had returned to her face as well.

It was all very strange, but it was like the headache hadn't even been there. While a faint throbbing still resided she felt fine for the most part. At least compared to how bad it had been.

"Hari, what happened?" Hermione asked. "You looked really bad when you went to the bathroom. Yukimura-san looked really worried, and even Ron noticed."

Hari frowned slightly. She had hoped she had managed to hide it from Seiichi.

"I just got a headache out of the blue," Hari said trying to make light of it.

Hermione looked at her for a long moment.

"That's not all," she said. "I can tell there's something you're not saying."

Hari looked away as her mind went back to those strange feelings she'd felt, and she could tell that the headache hadn't been…normal.

"I don't know, Hermione," Hari admitted. "It was…weird. I don't know what it was yet, but…I think it might have something to do with Voldemort."

"What?" Hermione asked shocked. "You-Know-Who? But…"

Hari shrugged, "this isn't the place to talk about it. And I don't want to talk about it, Hermione. I just… I don't know."

Hermione was staring at her with wide brown eyes and Hari knew she should have kept her mouth shut. She shouldn't have mentioned Voldemort.

"We should get back," Hari said. "I'm sure the match is about to start if not already started…"

Hermione just nodded but didn't say anything making Hari feel both relieved and wary because it wasn't like Hermione to stay quiet for long when she had something in mind. Hari was sure she would be hearing more about this later.

...

"Sorry for keeping you waiting," Hari apologized when she stepped up to Seiichi and Ron.

"You okay?" Seiichi asked searching her face.

"Yeah, sorry for worrying you," Hari said feeling bad for having caused him to worry. She still saw the worry in his eyes but he didn't press her.

"Good," he said smiling slightly. "Let's get back."

"Do you think the match has started yet?" Hari asked.

"Maybe," Seiichi said. "But I don't know."

Ron had been silent as he watched them but now he stepped up to them and patted Hari's head making Hari look at him.

"You sure you're okay?" Ron asked.

"I'm fine," Hari said. Again. "Didn't mean to make you worry."

Ron shrugged, "as long as you're fine."

Hermione joined them now and looked pensive as she watched Hari something Ron noticed right away and he arched a brow at her. Hermione shook her head slightly so Ron didn't say anything at the moment.

"Come on," Hari said taking Seiichi's hand in hers.

They walked back in a more sombre mood than before and Hari felt bad for Seiichi because he must feel really confused at the change. She knew she should explain but how could she? This was related to a part of her that he hadn't access too. She hated it.

Her mind was going back to what had happened and she felt scared and worried, more so than she wanted to admit to Hermione. She didn't want it to mean anything but with the dream she'd had about Voldemort and Wormtail… and now this.

...

They were back at the court before she really realised it and forced her mind to stop thinking about what had happened. She made a great effort to push everything back and away, luckily she was good at that. She'd had years of practice after all.

"Sorry, Seiichi," Hari said looking at her boyfriend. "I didn't mean to space out on you like this."

He looked at her for a moment before he smiled and like he so often did push a loose strand of hair out of her face.

"I wish you'd talk to me," he said softly. "I want to help."

"I…" Hari swallowed. "You are helping."

He sighed but nodded knowing that he shouldn't press it, but he really wished she would open up a little more. He saw the conflict in her eyes, and something that looked heavier and a burden he was unaware of.

"HARI-CHAN!" A loud voice suddenly yelled.

Hari blinked and looked away from Seiichi and over at Aoi who was standing with the rest of his team. She smiled and waved.

"Aoi-kun," Hari greeted. "You're as loud as ever."

"Of course he is," Saeki sighed as Hari (and Seiichi since he was attached to her hand) reached them with Ron and Hermione right behind them. "Good to see you again, Hari-chan."

"You too, Jiro-kun!" Hari grinned and without thinking let go of Seiichi's hand and hugged Saeki like she normally did. "I didn't think you'd come to watch today. Didn't you have a match today?"

"We're already done," Saeki said with a shrug when she pulled back and glanced to her side to where Seiichi stood. He didn't miss the tension in his shoulders or at his jaw but Hari seemed oblivious. Saeki hid a sigh and decided against saying anything in fear of making it worse. "Hello, Yukimura-san. Nice to see you again, as well."

"Saeki-san," Seiichi said politely enough but there was a note of annoyance in his voice as well. "I didn't know you knew Hari-chan."

Hari blinked and looked at Seiichi, "I didn't tell you? Oh, I must have forgotten. I met him when I got lost and ended up in Chiba."

"So you admit that you got lost, eh, Hari-chan?" Saeki smirked.

"Well, I can't really deny it, can I?" Hari pouted. "No one lets me."

Saeki laughed.

Hari noticed that Seiichi seemed to tense but she wasn't sure why or why he looked at Saeki with an almost suspicious look. She glanced curiously at Seiichi before looking back at Saeki who smiled at her.

"Ne, ne, Hari-chan," Aoi interrupted. "You played today, didn't you?"

"You did?" Kisarazu asked. "Did you win?"

"I played doubles 1 with Kikumaru-senpai," Hari said, "and yes, we won."

"So you play doubles as well," Shudo said. "Interesting."

Hari shrugged.

"You should come back to Chiba again," Kisarazu said.

"Yeah! You haven't been there in ages!" Aoi nodded.

"I've been busy," Hari said, "but I'll try."

She glanced down at the court and saw both Tezuka and Keigo standing ready to start their match and Ryoma was on the bench again.

"We should get back to the others," Hari said.

"Okay," Saeki said. "See you later, Hari-chan. Yukimura-san."

"See you, Jiro-kun, Juro-kun's team!" Hari smiled and waved.

"Oi! That's all we are to you!" Aoi wailed before Kurobane smacked his head lightly and sighed.

Hari took Seiichi's hand again and frowned slightly when he glanced at it but he didn't pull away. She was not sure what was going on. Didn't he like Saeki? Did he have a problem with him that she didn't know about?

She glanced at Hermione and saw that she was not really paying attention and was whispering to Ron who was frowning. Hari had a feeling she knew what they were whispering about and she didn't like it.

...

"Is something wrong?" Hari asked Seiichi when they were on their way back down to their seats.

"No," Seiichi denied but he wasn't looking at her. "There's nothing wrong."

Hari frowned and bit down on her lip as she stopped herself from saying anything else. He hadn't pushed her to talk so she shouldn't push him either. Even if she was burning to ask what his problem was.

They sat down and Hari tried to ignore the uneasy feeling in her stomach and focus on the match that was about to start. Tezuka vs. Keigo should be a very interesting match.

...

 **England**

...

A man wearing a dark cloak was standing in the middle of the street, the only light was from the streetlight but it was only minutes before the sun would be up for a new day. The man had a hood on that hid his face but it looked like his head was tilted upward to stare at the sky. He seemed unaware that he was standing in a street and that it was nearing morning and the street would come back to life and soon people would leave for work, children would be out to play…they would discover the horror in their neighbouring house…

The man had been looking for Harriett Potter, but there was no sign of her there anymore. He hadn't expected it to be, he was there after all. If she had been then he wouldn't have gotten in. So, it was true that the Girl-Who-Lived was gone, missing… A smirk played on his lips. He always loved a challenge. He would find her, for his Lord. He would prove that he was the greatest of his followers. That only he was to be trusted, that he was above the rest of those cowardly snivelling idiots who pretended that they followed their Lord's worthy cause.

But the search to this house was useless. There was a new family living there now and they had never heard of Potter before. Or had been living there would be more accurate to say. A dark smirk played on the man's unseen lips, a mad look in his hidden eyes as his tongue slipped out and licked around his mouth with a quick snake-like move.

Above the house was the sign, the proof, that would cause panic in the masses. It would show those who pretended, those how really had something to fear that what was theirs would be coming to them. They would pay for betraying their Lord.

A slithering noise came closer and he didn't look down to see Nagini approach him and slithered up his body before coiling around his shoulders.

"Our Lord will be disappointed, Nagini," the man's surprisingly soft voice said. "She's not here."

A hissing sound was his only answer.

A last glance up at the colossal emerald skull with the snake protruding from its mouth like a tongue shone back at him. A mad laugh filled the air before he turned and vanished from sight. Relishing in the panic that would follow…Oh, if he only could have watched…

...

"Albus!"

A voice made Dumbledore look up from his morning paper. He enjoyed reading it in his office before going down for breakfast, especially now that the school was empty of students and he had more time.

"Arabella," Dumbledore said slightly surprised as he got up from his chair and moved over to the fireplace where Arabella Figg's head was hovering in the fireplace.

"Albus," she gasped.

"What's wrong?" Dumbledore asked. "Why have you contacted me this morning? Do you wish to step through?"

"No, I can't," Mrs Figg shook her head frantically. "Oh, …it's terrible…the police are all over and…oh…"

Dumbledore frowned.

"What are you talking about, Arabella?" he interrupted the rambling.

"The old Dursley's house!" Mrs Figg cried. "It's…the Dark Mark, Albus! The Dark Mark!"

Dumbledore straightened and looked more intently at the batty old woman. Her eyes were wider than normal and he now noticed that she was looking rather pale.

"Tell me what happened," he ordered.

Arabella nodded and he knew she would have wrung her hands together as nerves and worry made itself clear.

"I woke up as normal this morning," she began. "I was just opening the doors to let my cats out when I saw…I saw that awful mark hanging above the Dursley's old house, Albus! The police were already there and…and…and… the family inside…the new family that moved in…They're-They're de-dead!"

Dumbledore sighed sadly as his mind spun with this new information.

"The Auror's have come," Mrs Figg sniffed.

"Good," Dumbledore nodded absentmindedly. "Do you know who?"

"I saw Kingsley," Mrs Figg said. "He said to contact you here."

"Kingsley will have this under control," Dumbledore said feeling slightly relieved. "He will be able to handle this."

"Do…do you think that they really were there looking for Hari?" Mrs Figg asked worriedly.

"I can't see any other reason for anyone like that being there," Dumbledore sighed.

After finishing the fire-call Dumbledore sat back and thought. He was not sure how long he had been sitting there before there was a knock on the door and both McGonagall and Snape came in.

"You missed breakfast, Albus," McGonagall said a little stiffly. She had been a little more distant with him since Hari had resigned and a part of Dumbledore understood it and welcomed it. He deserved the punishment, but that didn't stop him from planning.

"I just got a fire-call from Arabella Figg," Dumbledore said.

"Arabella?" McGonagall repeated shocked. "What did she want?"

Dumbledore told them about the Dark Mark hanging above the Dursley's old house and the family who had bought the house from the Dursley's were dead.

"Oh my…" McGonagall gasped.

Snape was scowling and his hand clutched his left forearm.

"Who do you think it was?" McGonagall asked.

"I don't know," Dumbledore admitted. "The only thing I'm sure of is that Voldemort is behind it, but who he has working for him…? I don't know."

"So he's looking for Hari," McGonagall said.

"Yes, and that's why it's even more crucial for us to find her," Dumbledore said.

McGonagall frowned as she watched Dumbledore getting up and starting to pace the floor in front of the fireplace. His eyes were narrowed in thought and she knew he was thinking about ways to find Hari. She was not so sure that finding Hari was the best idea if they found her wouldn't that mean that Voldemort would find her as well? At least eventually?

"The brat is always causing problems," Snape sneered.

McGonagall glared at him, "it's your fault that this is even happening, Snape! If you hadn't gotten her suspended then she would not be gone right now! So, do shut up!"

Snape glared back at her, "her own disregard for rules and authority are to blame for this! I was only…"

"Taking your anger at James out on an innocent girl that has done nothing to earn it!" McGonagall interrupted him with a fierce glare. "Hari isn't James, Snape!"

"She's as good as," Snape muttered mulishly.

"Enough," Dumbledore spoke up. "This isn't helping us. We need to find Hari before Voldemort does. We need her."

 **...**

 **...**

 **AN:** **What do you think? XD**

 **Finally another update for you! Thank you for your patience and hope you liked it! :) The match between Tezuka and Atobe will be in the next chapter. XD**

 **And a little peek at the British Magical World... things are happening... :)**

 **Thank you so much for reading and supporting this story! XD I appreciate it! :) Thank you to the guests who left reviews! :)**

 **Japanese words used:**  
 **Senpai - upperclassman**  
 **Otou-chan - Dad**  
 **Ne, ne - filler**


	41. Tezuka vs Atobe

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Prince of Tennis!**

 **...**

 **...**

 **...**

"Tezuka Kunimitsu, Captain of the Seigaku Tennis Club," Inoue was saying and Hari glanced to where he was standing to their left. "Play style: All-rounder. He has a perfect win record in both official and practice matches. For some reason, he refused an invitation to the All-star Junior selection camp. But he still possesses a talent that high school tennis clubs have their eye on."

Hari noticed that the others around her also paid attention to what Inoue was saying and she saw the impressed looks on Ron and the twins' faces. She already knew most of that, though, but it was still impressive to hear. Tezuka really was great.

"Atobe Keigo, Captain of the Hyotei Tennis Club," Inoue continued. "Play style: All-rounder. He participated in the Junior selection camp. He is the man that stands atop the 200-member Hyotei Tennis Club. Even the coach has strong confidence in him."

"Seriously," Hari muttered as she watched Keigo being all calm as the Hyotei side of the court cheered him on by calling his name and then start to direct them as if they had practised this. "Keigo is getting a big head."

Seiichi smiled slightly but didn't say anything and Hari felt something drop inside her. She really had no idea what made Seiichi suddenly feel so distant… Had she done something wrong? She turned back to the court trying to ignore the way her stomach clenched.

...

"The singles 1 match between Hyotei Middle School and Seigaku Middle School will now begin!" The referee called out. "One-set match. Hyotei's Atobe to serve!"

"Have they played each other before?" Hari suddenly asked realising that she didn't know.

"No," Fuji said turning to look at her. "This is their first time."

"Ah, I see," Hari said.

She watched Keigo serve and Tezuka return it. It almost looked like he just appeared where the ball went. They rallied the ball back and forth a few times before Keigo's ball hit the net and forced Tezuka to approach the net to return it. He tried to just lob it over the net but Keigo was prepared and already there, and while Tezuka managed to get his racket up in order to return it but he wasn't fast enough and he dropped the racket.

...

0- **15** : Hyotei

...

Keigo's pose afterwards and statement of watching his beautiful prowess or something made Hari roll her eyes but she had to admit that it was well done. She heard the people around her talk about Keigo's arrogance and narcissistic behaviour but didn't say anything even as she felt slightly annoyed.

Keigo served again and Tezuka returned it. The ball went back and forth, again and again, Tezuka tried to do the same thing Keigo had done before by hitting a ball close to the net forcing Keigo to the net and use a volley to set Keigo out of play, but Keigo managed to return the ball with a jack-knife. Tezuka managed to return the ball again and once more the ball went back and forth.

"Oh," Hari blinked before she smiled.

"Eh?" Kirihara said leaning forward.

"You've noticed?" Sanada asked.

"What?" Ron asked confused.

"Tezuka hasn't moved from his spot," Sanada said.

"How does that work…" Ron frowned.

"Tezuka-zone," Hari said. "Awesome."

She heard someone explain what it meant for Ron and the others but she didn't pay attention to it as she watched Keigo realise what had happened and frown slightly as he returned yet another ball and it went to where Tezuka was standing. Watching Tezuka like this really reminded her of Nanjiro. This was something he too was really good at.

...

 **15** -15: Seigaku

...

Hari smiled while the rest of her team cheered for the point. Tezuka looked as stoic as ever, though.

Keigo started to laugh and Hari glanced over at him. He was watching Tezuka with one hand to his eyes and she frowned.

"Pretty good, aren't you Tezuka? With that arm of yours…" Keigo said.

"Eh? What does that mean?" Kikumaru asked.

Hari looked back at Tezuka who didn't move or make any indication to say anything.

"It hurts, doesn't it? Tezuka?" Keigo asked.

"Hurts?" Hermione asked.

Seiichi was frowning slightly beside her as he watched Tezuka as well.

Oishi suddenly burst, "no way! Tezuka's elbow is completely healed!"

Hari glanced from Oishi to Tezuka before frowning in worry. She couldn't say that she was surprised because she did have a sense of something being wrong before this, but she could tell that the rest of her team was surprised and worried as they stared at Oishi who seemed to realise that he had said something he shouldn't.

"Tezuka's elbow was hurting until recently. He told me not to tell anyone. In order to get to the Nationals," Oishi said. "He didn't want us all to worry about him."

Hari looked back at Tezuka and the game that had started again as Oishi explained how Tezuka had gotten hurt in the first place two years earlier. How he had been really good even as a freshman and that he had easily won against the seniors. Oishi told them how he had cared about his seniors' feelings and had been playing with his right hand instead of his left and when that had been found out one of the seniors hadn't handled that very well. He had used his racket and hit Tezuka's left elbow. Tezuka had then said something about not using the racket to hurt people and asked the senior how long he had been playing tennis for.

Hari sighed sadly as she watched Tezuka play. She could only imagine what he must have been thinking at that time. How the sport he loved suddenly was the reason for why he was hurt.

"I can't believe something like that happened!" Horio exclaimed.

"Me neither," Hermione mumbled beside Hari and she glanced at her.

"Hari?" Ron asked with a frown when he saw her sad look.

Seiichi also glanced at her and frowned slightly when he saw the look on her face like she was remembering something painful.

"It's not that hard to believe that a team can turn on you," she said quietly with a knowing look that seemed to darken slightly as sadness clouded them. She knew Ron and Hermione knew what she was referring to her first year and her Quidditch team that stopped talking to her after they lost 150 points for Gryffindor. She did notice Seiichi and Sanada give her a searching look but she didn't say anything more.

"Hari," Hermione frowned but she shook her head.

Oishi continued to say that Tezuka didn't feel much to the injury at first but that it became more of a problem last year. The daily training that Tezuka did as well as his zero-shiki drop shot combined with the hit to the elbow resulted in damage to the elbow muscles.

"It was almost to the point of not being able to play tennis anymore," Oishi said.

Hari was frowning slightly as she looked at Tezuka play like he didn't have any pains, but…but there was something off. She couldn't help but feel like the injury wasn't as healed as Oishi and the others wanted to believe.

She heard them say that Keigo must have been bluffing, but she knew he hadn't been.

"Keigo wouldn't bluff like that," Hari said making them look at her. "If he said that…then it must be true."

"But the young Tezuka sure reminds me of someone," Kikumaru said and Momoshiro blinked before he made a face as he agreed. Both of them looked at Ryoma's back who turned around frowning at them.

"Who?" he scowled.

...

 **1** -0: Game Seigaku's Tezuka

...

"Wow!"

"That was amazing!"

That was a well performed Zero-shiki drop shot, Hari thought as she watched the Captain of their team. She wondered if it was done purposely because he knew what they had been talking about and wanted to show that there was nothing to worry about.

"What move was that?" George asked.

"Zero-shiki drop shot," Hari said. "It's a special spin on the original drop shot."

"But what does drop shot mean?" Fred asked.

"It's normally done when the player is near the net and the ball is rather delicately hit so that the ball lands on the other side of the net, often rather close to the net," Hari explained trying to make it simple. "Tezuka's Zero-shiki drop shot is because of the backspin Tezuka-Captain puts in the ball. Did you notice how the ball rolled back toward the net when it hit the ground?"

"Yeah," they both nodded.

"Normally the ball would bounce and it will be possible for your opponent to return the ball, but because of that backspin that is now impossible," Fuji added.

"Awesome!" The twins said awed.

...

The match had until now distracted her from her thoughts and worries about Seiichi, she glanced over at him and saw him watching the match. He was frowning slightly and it looked like he was thinking about something else but she had no idea what and for the first time since she'd met him, she wasn't sure how to ask.

She absentmindedly answered questions when asked something but she could not say later what she had been asked or what she had answered as she forced her eyes to focus on the match again and tried to ignore the nagging feeling she got from Seiichi's silence.

She noticed that Seiichi glanced at her and that he got a worried look on his face but she wasn't sure why he would feel worried now…and why didn't he just tell her what was wrong? What had she done?!

She didn't look at him and didn't take his hand when she had let go to accept a drink from Bill. She was not going to be the one seeking him out when he was the one who had suddenly gone distant with her.

Had her sudden sickness, or whatever it was, freaked him out that much? He had seemed genuinely concerned and wanting to help, though. Maybe he was upset that she hadn't told him exactly what had happened? But she couldn't… for several reasons. But was that what was wrong? Did her magic already push him away?

...

 **3** -2: Game Seigaku's Tezuka!

...

Tezuka was in the lead and Hari was barely aware of the cheering going on around her and the shocked silence from Hyotei's side of the court. Had she been paying attention she would have noticed the way they looked surprised and shocked by the fact that Keigo was losing.

"Something is wrong here," Yanagi said.

"Are you talking about what happened last fall?" Sanada asked.

"Yes," Yanagi nodded. "Atobe hasn't used the thing he showed at last year's All-Japan Junior Tournament."

"Hm, you mean that unbelievable smash?" Sanada asked.

Hari shook her thoughts away and did her best to focus on what was going on around her as she heard Sanada and Yanagi talk. She glanced over at Keigo and suddenly wished that she knew more about his tennis as well. She should have shown more interest in it, she supposed. But they had always talked about other stuff when they met for dinners.

"Oh no! It's a high lob!" Kikumaru exclaimed.

Hari watched as Keigo ran toward the ball but he didn't smash it like everyone was expecting him too. She blinked when he just returned it normally and Tezuka hit the ball back leaving them to rally back and forth some more.

She heard the relief from most of her team, but she noticed Fuji watching the court with his eyes opened for once and looked pensive.

"Oh," Sanada said as he arched a brow,

Hari also felt apprehensive as Keigo had purposely missed the opportunity to smash it. She watched the match and noticed Keigo sudden smirk like something was going exactly as he wanted it to.

"This match is going to be bad," Fuji suddenly said.

"Fuji, you think so too?" Inui asked.

"What do you mean?" Oishi asked worriedly.

Hari sighed and rubbed her temples as she felt the faint throbbing again.

"You okay?" Seiichi asked right away having noticed her small show of pain.

"Fine," she muttered but felt a flash of hope though also confusion.

He frowned but didn't say anything else.

...

0- **15** : Hyotei

...

Tezuka's racket was on the ground and Keigo was smirking as he watched Tezuka. Seiichi knew what Keigo tried to do and would admit that it was a good plan, but it was a plan that would be bad for Tezuka and probably would make his injuries worse.

Seiichi glanced at Hari who was looked worriedly at the court as well, so he was sure she too was aware of what was going on. He had to smile at that, she showed great insight into the game.

But he was worried about her. She had looked really pale and like she was going to be sick earlier, and he knew something had upset her when she was in the bathroom. He just had no idea what it was or how to help. She wasn't talking to him. He hated that. All of a sudden there was this wall between them and he had no idea how to get past it.

And…why did she greet Saeki like that? She had let go of him in order to hug the other boy. It looked so natural for her, the warmth and familiarity was not just a normal friendship. He couldn't help but feel childish and stupid for allowing these thoughts to enter his mind, but it was like he couldn't stop. The way she had smiled and the way she had talked to him played over and over in his mind, taunting him.

He had been unaware that Hari had known Saeki. She hadn't talked about him before, had she? How well did she know him? She had even given him a nickname… She only did that to those she was close to.

He was forced to accept it when it came to her team because no matter how much he disliked it, it was more expected when it came to them. She was on their team after all and it wasn't that surprising that she became close to them. So, he had gotten used to hearing her talk about 'Shu-chan' and 'Ka-chan', and it didn't bother him that much…but to suddenly hear her refer to someone as 'Jiro-kun', and that it was Saeki from Rokkaku Middle School… He had heard the reputation that Saeki had; he had even heard some of the girls on his school talk about how handsome and perfect he was. And Hari knew him.

Why hadn't she talked about him? Why did she know him? Why did it look like she had spent time with him and his team? It was clear that it was Saeki she knew best from that team, so it was logical to presume that it was Saeki who had introduced them.

And now she hadn't taken his hand again after getting the drink from Bill. She had barely looked at him and it made him uneasy. He wanted to hold her hand and he would admit, he wanted to show Saeki that she was his. But that was stupid, childish and wrong. Hari was her own person and he wasn't going to be that possessive boyfriend that couldn't handle her being friends with other boys… but did one of those other boys have to be Saeki?

He sighed inaudibly as he glanced over at her and saw her following the match with focused eyes. She looked pensive and he wanted to ask what she was thinking, but something held him back. Why was it suddenly so difficult to talk to her?

How had a good day turned out to become so bad? He couldn't help but wonder to himself.

...

"Atobe is making this a long game on purpose," Fuji said.

"What?" Oishi demanded. "Why would he do that?"

"He wants to destroy Tezuka's arm in the match," Fuji said darkly.

"Eh?"

Hari fisted her hands as she heard what Fuji said and looked over at Keigo. She wished she could say that Fuji was wrong, but she couldn't. She had a feeling that this was Keigo's goal, and she hated it. She felt angry and upset because Keigo was someone she had started to care about and she didn't want to see him do this to someone on her team (or anyone really). And Tezuka was her friend even if he wasn't one of the ones she spent the most time with on the team. He was still a friend and he had helped her a lot with her tennis when she first joined the team.

The game continued and Hari did her best to push everything out of her mind again and she focused on the game. She had to focus; she owed it to her team and her friends. So, thoughts of Voldemort and what had happened earlier was more firmly pushed back and this time it seemed to work.

"Seriously?" Seiichi asked quietly from beside her.

"What?" Hari asked and noticed him glancing over at her almost surprised before he smiled slightly.

"Tezuka was the one looking for a long game," Seiichi said.

Hari blinked and looked back at Tezuka again and she couldn't help but wonder how she had missed that.

"Why would he do that?" Charlie asked.

"Probably wanted to prove something," Hari frowned.

"That is my thought," Seiichi agreed and looked back at the court.

Hari glanced at him and saw the focused look in his eyes and wondered if he could understand this about Tezuka with his own injury and therefore might be able to understand the need to prove himself. She just hoped that he wouldn't push himself this far to do so because she didn't want to see Seiichi getting injured again.

"He wants to accomplish something," Inoue said.

"Accomplish something?" Sakuno repeated.

"If Atobe is right about Tezuka's arm then only a strong will to accomplish something can make him do this," Inoue said. "Those eyes are the eyes of wanting to attain something."

Hari frowned slightly hearing that. She had thought he wanted to prove something, but he wanted to attain something? Watching him she had to admit that it looked like that.

...

 **6** -5: Game Seigaku's Tezuka

...

"But doesn't that mean that he won?" Hermione asked confused.

Hari glanced at her, "normally yes, but since Keigo has 5 games they have to play another one. If Tezuka wins this one then he wins. If Keigo wins they go into a tie-break."

"What's tiebreak?" Fred asked.

"It's a set played to determine the winner of the game," Hari said simply and smiled slightly when she saw their pointed looks. "Well, the winner of the tiebreak has to have scored at least seven points and at least two points more than his opponents. So, it can last a long time if the game is close."

"Strange," Ron said shaking his head.

"But it is awesome!" George said. "We can get to watch them even more! They're both so good!"

Hari smiled slightly but still the worry for Tezuka and his elbow and shoulder was there underlying everything. But it was impossible to not enjoy this match. It was a great one.

"It's a great game," Yoshida spoke up having been quiet for a long time.

"Yes," Hari agreed.

"I wish to play a match like this sometime," Yoshida said sadly. "But…"

"You still can, you know," Hari interrupted her. "It's not like you can't play tennis in High School. Or start again now, you can do it."

Yoshida looked at her and Hari saw the hope in her eyes.

"You think so?" she asked.

"Of course," Hari said. "We'll practice together sometime, okay?"

"Okay," Yoshida smiled and nodded.

Hari noticed Seiichi as he watched and gave him a curious yet wary look and he frowned slightly and she looked away feeling disappointed.

...

Tezuka managed to return Keigo's smash that was designed to make him loosen his grip on the racket without doing so, and Hari could see the shock on Keigo's face as he realised the same. She even saw the impressed look on Keigo's coach as he had turned to watch Tezuka.

"He even managed to get him into the Tezuka-zone," Hari said impressed.

"Wow," George and Fred said with wide eyes.

They watched as every ball Keigo returned over the net went to Tezuka no matter what and Hari blinked when Tezuka performed his Zero-shiki drop shot and watched as the ball hit the ground on Keigo's half of the court before spinning back toward the net and away from Keigo.

...

 **40** -0: Seigaku

...

Only one more shot, Hari thought as she felt the excitement build around her. They were one more shot and point away from the victory!

"Come on," Kikumaru and Momoshiro were whispering.

"One more," the first years said.

Hari felt her eyes widen in horror as she watched Tezuka start to raise his arm to take the last shot and his arm seemed to freeze and racket dropped from his hand in what seemed like slow motion before the racket hit the ground echoing as it did. But that was not what had her attention, but it was the fact that Tezuka was holding his shoulder and dropped to his knees.

"No…" Hari whispered.

Everyone seemed to be frozen in shock or horror as they stared at Tezuka. Hari was vaguely aware of Sanada actually showing his shock on his face as his mouth opened and he leaned forward. Seiichi was frowning and had one hand fisted against his thigh.

"TEZUKA!" Oishi was yelling as his worry for his friend took over and he looked close to actually running out on the court and so did the rest. Hari sat still beside Seiichi as she held a hand over her mouth and fisted her hands as she stared at Tezuka.

The rest of the team all as one jumped the low wall and ran toward Tezuka their worry winning over their logic. Hari remained seated unable to move but also knowing that it would do no good. And she was right.

"Don't come!" Tezuka called out making them stop. "The game isn't over yet!"

Hari inhaled shakenly as she closed her eyes. She knew Tezuka wouldn't give up, but right now she almost wished he would. She heard Inoue talk about how it would be best for him to resign and that too many players pushed themselves and got injured so badly that they had to resign.

Hari blinked when she felt her hand being grabbed and worked open enough to accept another hand in hers, she glanced down at the now connected hands before looking back at Seiichi who gave her an encouraging smile and squeezed her hand.

Confused about why he suddenly sought out the contact again when he had been content to not hold her hand for most of the match and confused at the way she relaxed and suddenly felt better and lighter by just the hand holding hers.

She squeezed his hand back as she watched as Tezuka sat down on the bench. She watched as the others tried to talk Tezuka out of playing and Tezuka ignored them as he just worked with his arm for a moment before grabbing his racket.

She could understand his determination and will, and she couldn't help but admire it as well. He must be in great pain but he refused to give up. Oishi seemed to see it too because he agreed after a short conversation with Tezuka.

"Seigaku! Seigaku!" A familiar voice called and Hari turned in her seat and smiled when she saw Kawamura standing at the top waving the flag.

"Kawamura-senpai!"

The relief seeing him lifted the spirit some and more of them looked relieved now and actually smiled.

"Victory! Se-i-ga-ku! Yeah! Yeah!" Kawamura chanted as he waved the flag back and forth ignoring Ryuzaki's scolding in the background about how he should calm down because he had just been at the hospital!

Hari noticed Ryoma stand and walk a few steps before he paused.

"Just like with me, don't lose," Ryoma said.

"I won't lose," Tezuka promised and Ryoma nodded and before he walked off the court and grabbed his bag before walking up the stairs.

Hari watched as Ryoma walked past Ryuzaki who thanked him for being the bench coach. She then sighed as she looked back at Tezuka.

"Geez," she sighed. "How come we only have stubborn guys in our club?"

Hari snorted slightly as she heard the question from the coach. Her eyes went back to Ryoma who walked away now looking determined. She wondered if he was going to go and warm up…so did that mean that he did believe that Tezuka would lose? She briefly considered going with him. She kind of wanted to and that way she would be away from Seiichi and the distance between them, but she glanced down at the hand still holding her hand and she didn't want to let go of it. Even if he was only holding it because he wanted to comfort her or offer her strength as she watched Tezuka and his obvious pain. So, she stayed in her seat but she noticed Momoshiro running up the steps with his racket joining Ryoma who glanced at him before he nodded at something the older boy said.

...

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Atobe!" Tezuka called out as he stepped out onto the court again. "Let's finish this fight!"

Keigo looked pensive as he watched Tezuka before he glanced over at Hari who looked worried but also calm. He wanted to win this match. He wanted to prove to Hari that he was better, that he could have taught her a lot about tennis as well. He knew Tezuka had trained Hari, and it bugged him. He would admit that. At least to himself.

The ball was in motion again and Keigo noticed that Tezuka struggled to keep up as he attacked. He knew that only one point to Tezuka meant that he had lost the match and he couldn't lose. So, Keigo focused and put his all into the match, like he had done from the start but there was no intention of prolonging the match any more. He still couldn't believe that Tezuka had purposely gone for a long match; he had thought he was the one to push it but the other boy had turned it around on him.

The cheering from his team rose as he took the first points.

...

 **15** -40: Hyotei

...

The match continued and Keigo took point after point until he finally won the game making them tie on 6 games each.

...

6- **6** : Game Hyotei's Atobe!

...

Hari didn't know what to think as she watched the tie-break go on and on and on. It was never-ending. She had believed it would be over faster, especially when Tezuka had failed to take control at first but he had never given up. He fought to get back and never allowed Keigo to get the two points lead he needed to win when they passed the 7 points mark.

"Woah." Bunta said awed.

"I can't believe they still are playing, Pyo!" Niou said blinking.

"Awesome!" Kirihara bounced in his seat. "You're Captain is awesome, Hari-chan!"

"I know," Hari smiled.

...

 **35** -34: Tezuka lead!

...

"How can he play with that shoulder of his?" Hermione asked worriedly. "Didn't he injure it?"

"Determination and will," Hari said. "I'm sure he's just refusing to lose and that's why he is ignoring his pain."

Seiichi nodded in agreement. "They're both exhausted by this point. It's not about their techniques anymore, but their will and mental ability. They both refuse to lose."

"Crazy," Ron muttered but he sounded awed.

They watched and everyone had gotten quiet and almost sombre as they did so, taking in the will they both showed as they took turns in taking the lead of the game.

Hari glanced to the first years when they started to shift on their feet a little and she saw Kachiro frown and look almost scared. She furrowed her brows a little as she watched them, and knew they probably were worried about Tezuka.

"One moment," she said to Seiichi before she got up and walked down toward the first year trio.

"Are you alright?" Hari asked them.

"Why aren't they stopped?" Kachiro asked looking up at her. "If…If Tezuka-Captain's shoulder is that bad, why don't you stop him, Hari-chan-senpai?"

Hari glanced at the ongoing game and the expression on Tezuka's face before she looked over at Keigo who also showed determination and exhaustion on his face.

"What do you see when you look at them, Kachiro?" Hari asked gently.

"Eh?" Kachiro blinked.

Hari smiled slightly down at him, "take a look. Look closely at both of them. What do you see?"

Kachiro looked and so did Horio and Mizuno. They all looked to be focusing really hard.

"Um…I…" Kachiro said.

"They both are near exhaustion," Hari said. "Keigo as well. But they refuse to give up. This is a battle of will now, and no one can stop it. Do you not see what Tezuka-Captain is putting into this match? Do you not see his will, his determination, his passion for the game? His wish for Seigaku to win is greater than the pain he feels."

"But…" Horio was the one to speak up now. "But his shoulder…"

Hari nodded gravely. "Yes, his shoulder is injured and he'll have to deal with the consequences of it later, but right now…we can't help him. He will not listen if we tell him to stop, so we should just support him the best we can from the sidelines. He is fighting like that for us, Kachiro, Horio, Mizuno. Can you believe in him? Can you give him your support?"

They stared at her for a long moment before they looked back at the court. They nodded.

"Good," Hari said with a small smile. "You should never forget this match."

Hari walked over to the rest of her team now deciding to watch the end of the match with them. She stood beside Fuji who was watching with opened eyes and a serious look on his face. All of them was serious.

"A Zero-shiki drop shot?" Hari mumbled surprised.

She watched as Tezuka hit the ball over the net and while the ball had a slight backspin it didn't turn back but bounced, showing that Tezuka was tried and that it was very late in the match. Keigo who had decided to give his all to get the ball had thrown himself forward and managed to hit the ball back over the net.

"Tezuka-zone?!" Someone exclaimed when the ball returned to Tezuka like it had been summoned.

Hari felt her breath catch in her throat as she saw the ball hit Tezuka's racket and fly back toward the net in almost slow motion…she fisted her hands as she wished for the ball to go over the net…if it only would go over then Tezuka would have won because Keigo hadn't gotten back up to his feet yet…

The ball hit the net and dropped back to Tezuka's side of the court.

A stunned silence followed where everyone seemed to stare at the ball and didn't quite believe that the game was over. It was finally over…

...

 **7** -6: Game and match, Hyotei's Atobe!

...

Silence. Hari never thought the result of the match would be met with silence like this. No one seemed to know what to say or do. Even the winning side didn't start their usual cheer for the win. It was like everyone felt like silence was the best response…

Hari saw Tezuka let out a sigh and seemed to let go of something as he closed his eyes and just stood there for a moment before he somehow managed to walk over to the net and shake hands with an equally tired Keigo.

"That was the best match," Keigo said as he lifted Tezuka's hand in the air.

Hari smiled slightly as the cheers suddenly burst through and overtook the silence.

"Amazing game, both of you!"

...

"What now?" Hermione asked.

Seiichi glanced over at Hari's friends and back to Hari who was standing with her team, he couldn't exactly fault her for that but he wished she would come back up to them.

"They now have 2 wins each," Seiichi explained. "And a no-game when Kawamura and Kabaji got hurt and couldn't finish their match. So, they need to play another match in order to determine the winner."

"Oh," Hermione said. "But who'll play?"

"My bet is Echizen," Seiichi said.

"So, we'll…"

"…get to…"

"…see Hari's…"

"…little brother play," The twins finished together.

Seiichi felt his head hurt as he tried to keep up with them and wondered if Hari had to do so all the time if so he felt sorry for her. This could get tiresome very quickly.

"Most likely," Seiichi said.

Hari turned and looked at him and he saw the hesitation in her eyes and he felt something inside of him clench but then her closeness to Saeki came back and his inside felt hot all of the sudden and he looked away.

Sanada looked at him with a frown but Seiichi didn't acknowledge him right then, his mind was still fighting with itself as he knew he was being unreasonable and childish, but…but he couldn't help it.

...

The match between Ryoma and Hiyoshi Wakashi was over rather quick compared to Tezuka and Keigo's match. It was fun for Hari to watch how Ryoma shocked everyone who wasn't a part of Seigaku (who knew most of Ryoma's moves by now). Though, when Ryoma performed the Zero-shiki drop shot a gasp went through even some of the Seigaku players while Hari grinned. And it was always fun to watch the shock on the other people faces when they realised that Ryoma wasn't right-handed but left-handed, and had been playing with his 'weak' hand for some time. Ryoma really liked that trick.

"He's good," Sanada said.

"That's high praise from Genichiro," Seiichi smiled slightly before he nodded. "But he is right. Echizen is good."

"Of course," Hari said confidently. "Ryo-chan is the best."

"What a proud big sister you are," Fuji turned to look at her.

"Says you," Hari gave him a look before glancing over at Yuta who blinked at them.

Fuji chuckled and nodded.

In the end, Ryoma won and secured that their hope to reach the Nationals still lived. They were ready for the next round of the Kanto Tournament.

...

"Good match, Keigo," Hari said smiling slightly even though she still felt annoyed at him for his strategy for the game, though it helped to know that Tezuka had purposely gone for a long match as well.

"Yeah," Keigo said pushing his hair away from his face as he glanced over at Tezuka. "It was a tough one."

"You played well," Hari said. "I was impressed."

"Of course," Keigo smirked tiredly. "Who am I?"

Hari snorted. "A big-headed boy."

Keigo sighed but smiled as he looked at her.

"Your brother is good as well," Keigo said. "I was surprised."

"Ryo-chan is great," Hari nodded. "He loved the chance to get to play and show off."

Keigo huffed and shook his head, "I'll crush him when I play him."

Hari rolled her eyes. "We'll see."

"Yes, we will," Keigo said quietly as he watched her leave and join her team again. He sighed as he turned to return to his own team. It hurt to lose, and he would need to work to get over it.

...

Hari slammed the door to her room not caring that it was loud. She flung herself to the bed and hid her face in her pillow. The day had been a roller-coaster of emotions making her feel exhausted. She wasn't sure what she had done that was so wrong… she had intended to talk to Seiichi when the matches were over, but Seiichi had left right away. He had said goodbye and even pushed her hair out of her face like he used to but there was something sad in his beautiful eyes. Like he was expecting something, but she had no idea what he was expecting.

"Argh, boys are so complicated," she moaned into her pillow.

She had gone home feeling upset and just tired. She knew she had not been as invested in the conversation between Ron and Hermione and the rest of the Weasley's. She knew Hermione had given her some looks, but right now she just didn't have the energy to care.

Hedwig cooed and flew over to her landing on the bed beside her and Hari turned her head so she could look at her owl (who somehow managed to keep her balance on the floppy duvet).

"What did I do, Hed?" Hari whispered. "I don't know what I did…"

Hedwig made a comforting sound.

Should she call him? She should, right? But if he had wanted to talk then he would have stayed after the match and talked.

...

Hermione knew Hari was upset about something, and she didn't think it was because of what had happened in the bathroom. Though, it might. She glanced at Ron who sulked because Hari had gone home instead of spending the rest of the day with them.

"I'll go and talk to her," Hermione said getting up from her seat in the apartment they borrowed.

"I'll come," Ron said immediately.

"I think maybe I should go alone," Hermione said. "She's upset…"

"So? I can help," Ron frowned.

"I know you can," Hermione said. "But she looked like she wanted to be alone, so crowding her isn't right. But she needs to talk to someone and…"

"Just let Hermione go, Ron," Bill said patiently. "Sometimes girls just need some girl-talk."

"It's the downside of having girls' as your best friend, little brother," Charlie teased. "We'll go out and find something to do."

Ron sighed but nodded making Hermione sigh slightly in relief knowing that she couldn't actually deny Ron from coming if he had wanted to.

She left and found her way to Hari's new home easily enough and stopped as she looked up at the house. It looked really nice and lived in, and she saw the tennis balls laying spread around the yard.

"Oh, isn't it Granger-san?" a voice said from behind her and she turned to see Ryoga coming up behind her. He was dressed in what looked like training clothes and had a bag thrown over his shoulder.

"Ah, Echizen-san," Hermione said.

"Call me Ryoga," he said waving a hand. "What are you doing here?"

"I…I came to see Hari," Hermione said.

He arched a brow and looked toward the house. "She's home? I thought she would be out with her team or her boyfriend…"

Hermione didn't say anything making him frown at her before he sighed and nodded.

"Come on, then," he said. "I'll see if she's home."

"Where have you been?" Hermione asked before she could stop herself. She opened her mouth to apologize but he answered before she could.

"I was at my work," he said.

"Work?"

"I am a private tennis instructor at the club downtown," Ryoga said. "It's only part-time, though."

"You don't attend school?" Hermione asked.

He glanced at her before he shrugged, "I'm in the process of transferring over from my school in New York."

Hermione wanted to ask more but he opened the door now and she took it as a sign that the conversation was over.

"Ah, Ryoga," Rinko said when she entered the hallway and blinked when she saw Hermione before she smiled in welcome. "Hermione-chan."

"Hey," Hermione said. "Hope I'm not intruding."

"No, not at all," Rinko said. "You're here to see Hari-chan, right?"

Rinko glanced up the stairs and had a worried look on her face.

"Something wrong?" Ryoga asked noticing the look as well.

"I don't know," Rinko said. "She got home and went directly to her room without saying a word. I knocked but she didn't answer."

Ryoga looked over at Hermione. "Did something happen at the matches today?"

Hermione wasn't sure what to say.

"I think she's upset about something," Hermione said vaguely. "That's why I thought I'd come and see her."

"They didn't lose, did they?" Ryoga asked.

"No, they won," Hermione said.

"Good," Ryoga said. "Well, if you're going to talk to her, then I'll wait, I guess."

It looked like he didn't like it and she could see the worry in his eyes as he glanced up the stairs again.

...

Hermione walked up the stairs after being told to do so by Rinko and Ryoga disappearing deeper into the house (probably going to take a shower or find his room). She paused outside Hari's room for a moment before she knocked.

There was no answer so Hermione decided to just open the door. She did so slowly and looked around until she saw Hari laying on her stomach on the bed with Hedwig beside her.

"Hari?" Hermione spoke softly.

Hari didn't answer but she saw her tense slightly on the bed so she was awake. Since she didn't tell her to go away Hermione stepped further into the room and closed the door behind her. She walked over to the bed and looked down at Hari.

"Hari?" she said again. "Are you scared?"

Hari turned her head slightly so she could look at Hermione showing the confusion in her eyes.

"Scared?" Hari asked. "Why?"

"Well, Voldemort…" Hermione said.

Hari blinked before she sighed and pushed herself up so she could sit up.

"I hadn't thought about him," Hari admitted.

Hermione looked closer at her and saw the red-rimmed eyes and her green eyes were darker behind her glasses that looked a little askew seeing that she had been lying on her stomach with her face down.

"Then what are wrong?" Hermione asked. "You have been upset since before the match between Tezuka and Atobe."

Hari looked away and smiled slightly when Hedwig jumped (in the way owls jumped) from the bed and over at Hari's arm. Hari lifted a hand and gently stroked Hedwig's feathers making Hedwig coo.

Hari looked like she was debating something and Hermione could tell that she was holding back. She didn't like it. She wished, oh how she wished, that they were back at Hogwarts and Hermione would know how to reach Hari, but now…now she worried that whatever she said would only push Hari even farther away.

"Don't you trust me anymore, Hari?" Hermione asked sadly.

Hari's head snapped around to look at Hermione with wide eyes.

"Eh? What makes you ask that?" Hari asked.

"You would normally talk with me," Hermione said. "Back at Hogwarts…we told each other everything. At least I thought we did."

Hari stared at her and for a moment before she sighed and looked down.

"I…It's not that I don't trust you, Hermione," Hari said quietly. "I just…I have changed since I left Hogwarts."

"I know," Hermione whispered and Hari looked at her and then patted the bed beside her and Hermione took the few reminding steps and sat down beside Hari and stretched her legs out on the bed.

"I am not the same girl that left the school in March," Hari said almost firmly. "I…am not sure you and Ron can handle that."

"You believe us that fickle?" Hermione asked hurt.

Hari glanced at her and sighed again.

"I don't know," Hari admitted. "You're both used to me being the Girl-Who-Lived. If…if I'm not that…would you still want to be my friend?"

The last part was whispered.

"Hari," Hermione blinked feeling tears in her eyes.

"I know Ron befriended me mostly because I was Hari Potter," Hari said not looking at Hermione. "He heard his brothers talk about me at the station and came to my compartment because of that. He wanted to be friends with the famous Girl-Who-Lived. I was just so happy to have a friend again that I didn't care."

"That's…" Hermione had no idea what to say.

"I don't know why you wanted to be my friend," Hari continued. "You're a good student and I know I only brought trouble for you, I pushed you into situations you never would have gotten into on your own… I only brought you danger, and you would be better without me."

Hermione gaped as she looked at Hari. Did Hari really believe that?

"That's not true!" Hermione denied. "You saved me from the troll! You were my first friend, Hari!"

Hari frowned but shook her head.

"If I had stood up for you when Ron said what he said then you wouldn't have been in danger," Hari said. "I should have said something then, and I should have gone to look for you before that."

"I understand why you didn't say anything," Hermione said. "I know I came off very strong at first and I understand why you and Ron didn't like me at first. I was too concerned about the rules and everything. You showed me that there were more to life than just rules and books, and without you, I wouldn't have been able to see that."

Hermione couldn't believe that Hari had actually believed that they wouldn't be her friends if she hadn't been the Girl-Who-Lived, or that Hermione shouldn't be her friend…

"Hari, you are my best friend," Hermione said firmly. "No matter what."

Hari looked over at her.

"Even if I'm never going to go back to Hogwarts?" Hari challenged.

Hermione swallowed. She had known that there was a chance that Hari would say exactly that, and while she wished that Hari would come back to Hogwarts with her and Ron she could see that it was not likely. Having watched Hari with her new family and friends and seen the way she interacted with them and how much more relaxed she'd seemed Hermione could say that she understood why Hari wished to stay. She never had found the same at Hogwarts where she was constantly in danger.

"I won't lie and say that I don't want you to come back," Hermione said slowly, "because I really can't imagine Hogwarts without you, Hari. But, I do understand why you would want to stay here and I will support you."

Hari blinked and Hermione could see the disbelief in her eyes before a smile crossed her face and Hari almost threw her arms around Hermione. Hermione hugged her back feeling lighter than before and knowing that she still had her best friend.

...

"So, why are you upset?" Hermione asked.

Hari had calmed down and pulled back from Hermione again and dried the few tears that had escaped. She hadn't known or intended to have this talk with Hermione now, but it felt good to have talked to her.

"I…I think Sei-chan is upset with me," Hari said.

"What?" Hermione blinked and Hari could tell it was not what she had expected to hear. "Why do you think that?"

"He was distant with me all through the last two matches and he left right away when the matches were done," Hari said glumly. "I don't know what I did!"

Hermione stared at her.

"When did he start to act like that?" Hermione asked confused.

"When we got back for Tezuka and Keigo's match," Hari said. "You and Ron were talking so I don't think you paid attention to when we met my friend Jiro-kun."

"The boy with the silver hair?" Hermione said trying to remember.

"Yeah," Hari nodded.

"He's handsome," Hermione said blushing lightly.

"Suppose so," Hari said shrugging. "Well, we met him and his team…"

She told Hermione what had happened and how Seiichi suddenly seemed tense and distant with her. Hermione was looking at Hari with a look that clearly said that she thought Hari should know something; it was a look she recognized from their study sessions.

"Hari," Hermione sighed. "You really are dense."

"What?" Hari scowled.

"He's jealous," Hermione said trying not to sound amused.

"What?" Hari blinked. "That's…but…really?"

"Yes, really," Hermione said. "Hari, you greeted another boy with a hug and clear closeness in front of your boyfriend. Of course, he's jealous."

"But, I don't like Jiro-kun anymore," Hari said. "Not like that."

"Anymore?" Hermione arched a brow.

"I liked him when I first met him," Hari admitted. "Or I thought I did…But I think I might just have admired him because when I met Sei-chan I couldn't help but think more about him and I started to like him before I even knew it."

"And did Yukimura know you liked someone before him?" Hermione asked.

"I…he might," Hari frowned.

"Maybe he has connected it to this Jiro-kun?" Hermione asked. "He feels threatened, Hari."

Hari thought back to Seiichi's behaviour and she felt stupid for not seeing it. But jealous? Really? Didn't he know that she liked him? And only him? Was he really jealous?

"I…hurt him," Hari whispered. "I'm an idiot."

"Hari," Hermione protested. "You didn't know and didn't mean to. He should have said something if he was upset."

Hari shook her head. "I should have asked him more about what was wrong."

Hermione patted her hand and Hari sighed.

"You should talk to him," Hermione said. "Call him."

Hari shook her head, "I need to see him."

Hermione blinked.

"Now?" She asked surprised.

"Yeah," Hari said. "I can't wait. I can't let him think that I like someone else…"

...

Hari frowned as she looked at the house in front of her. That was not the right house. She sighed as she turned around and wondered just where she had gone wrong now. She felt frustrated and impatient as she looked for the house to Seiichi's aunt and uncle. She knew he was staying with them during the tournament. The entire team was actually because they had the room and Seiichi said his aunt had insisted on it.

Hari had never been there before but she knew where it was, or she had thought she knew but the street number was wrong.

20 minutes later she finally found the right house number and knowing that she had found the right house finally. How it had hidden itself so well was another question.

She glanced down at the flowers in her hands. She hoped she had gotten the bouquet right, she had tried to learn more about Japanese flower meanings and had found the flowers that said what she wanted to say. She just hoped that he would like it.

Swallowing the nerves she felt bubbling right underneath the surface she rang the doorbell. All too soon she heard the quick footsteps coming toward the door.

"Hello?" A woman with dark hair and blue eyes smiled at her. "May I help you?"

"I…um, is Seiichi here?" Hari asked nervously.

The woman arched a brow but before she could answer a voice called out; "Hari-chan!"

The eager boy came rushing forward and stopped right in front of her.

"Hey, Minoru-chan," Hari smiled slightly.

"What are you doing here?" Minoru asked.

"I…I wanted to see if Sei-chan is here," Hari said, proud that her voice was steady.

"You know our Seiichi?" the woman interrupted.

"Yes, ma'am," Hari said. "I'm Echizen Hari."

"Ah, the girlfriend," the woman smiled. "I'm Yukimura Kasumi, Seiichi's aunt."

Hari blushed.

"I'll call him down," she said. "Come in, Echizen-san."

Hari did and felt her heart beat harder as she waited for Seiichi to come…if he wanted to see her, she thought. Minoru was talking and she tried to pay attention to the younger boy but her nerves were threatening to overtake her. Maybe she should have waited until the next day, or maybe she should have called…

"Hari-chan?" the soft, familiar voice had her turn slightly and saw Seiichi coming down the stairs with his aunt right behind him.

"Sei-chan," Hari tried to smile and she saw him glance at the flowers in her hands.

"Minoru," Kasumi said. "Let's give your cousin and his girlfriend some privacy to talk. Don't go without saying goodbye, Hari-chan."

Hari blinked before she nodded and watched as Seiichi's aunt and cousin left.

...

"Are you okay?" Seiichi asked concerned.

Hari bit down on her lower lip before she almost pushed the flowers over at him and he was forced to take them in order to stop them from being crushed against his chest. He blinked as he looked down at them.

She saw him look at the flowers and waited for him to say something.

"Why are you sorry?" Seiichi asked quietly as he gently touched the purple Hyacinth.

"Because I am dense and an idiot," Hari said.

He looked at her, "what?"

"I don't like Jiro-kun, not like that, and I shouldn't have given you a reason to think that I might," Hari said. "I'm sorry for just acting without thinking and not understanding what it might look like for you."

Seiichi looked at her.

"You didn't do anything wrong," he sighed. "I overreacted."

Hari looked at him and smiled slightly, "I know that if it was the other way around I wouldn't have liked seeing you suddenly hug another girl…"

She had thought about it on the way here and she could see that it had been insensitive and she hadn't really thought what it would look like and that if he had done that she wouldn't have liked it.

"I know you're close with other boys, Hari-chan," Seiichi said. "And I don't want to be possessive and jealous, but…I guess I was just surprised today. I didn't know you knew him and I know he is popular with girls."

Hari looked at him for a long moment before she stepped closer to him and knew she was blushing but she needed him to know. She could practically hear her heart beating in her ears as she looked at him.

"I like you, Sei-chan," Hari said. "I have since the first time you took my hand and kissed it."

He smiled and reached out to and with a hand to her waist pulled her closer and leaned down to press his lips to hers in a soft and lingering kiss.

 **...**

 **...**

 **AN:** **What do you think? XD A very long chapter for you! I think I can safely say that this is the longest chapter I've written, at least for this fic. :) I just didn't want to stop it before I got things right between Hari and Seiichi again XD**

 **Hope you liked it. Though, I am sorry if the match didn't make any sense. I really like the match between Tezuka and Atobe but it was not easy to write. And it was difficult to find the right balance between the tennis and other parts like the discussion of the game, explanations and personal troubles... So, I decided that this is as good as it gets and just to post it before I decided to just delete everything and start over...something I really didn't want to do. :)**

 **Thank you for your support as always! :D**


	42. Worries

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Prince of Tennis!**

 **...**

 **...**

 **...**

So, okay, Hari had not thought this through. She had not really thought about the fact that going to Seiichi's home (or his aunt and uncle's home) would mean that his family would be there too. And that she would be meeting the said family. Now. Today.

She swallowed nervously as she followed Seiichi through the hallway and tried to calm down. She really wanted them to like her. What if they didn't? What if they told Seiichi's parents that she was not good enough for their son?

"It's going to be fine," Seiichi said when they paused outside a door.

Hari nodded and tried to smile at her boyfriend who squeezed her hand.

"I just want them to like me," Hari admitted.

Seiichi nodded and squeezed her hand again before he pushed the door open giving Hari a glimpse of the elegantly decorated room and she also noticed the vase of flowers on a table before she noticed the people in the room as well.

Seiichi's aunt, Kasumi, was seated on the sofa knitting as she talked to a man who was reading a book. He seemed to be answering with one word and she wondered if he really knew what he was answering. But there was something very intimate and just easy about it that had Hari smile and wish for something like that one day.

"Ah, Hari-chan," Kasumi said when she noticed Seiichi and Hari. "I'm so glad you're still here!"

Hari smiled and noticed that the man who probably was Seiichi's uncle had looked up and was watching her now curiously.

"Hari-chan," Minoru smiled and waved. "You're still here!"

"Of course she is," Seiichi smiled. "Aunt Kasumi told her not to leave before saying goodbye. Well, Hari-chan, this is my uncle, Yukimura Ryouichi."

Hari turned her attention to the man who was now standing and she realised that he was tall and he had the same navy blue hair as his nephew only his was shorter, but his eyes were grey and he was wearing a pair of reading glasses that he was just removed from his face now.

"Hello," he said holding out a hand. "It's nice to meet the young girl who has managed to get our Seiichi's attention."

Hari knew she was blushing slightly but she shook the hand and met his eyes as she did. So she saw the way he seemed to try to read her.

"Nice to meet you, Yukimura-san," Hari said. "I'm Echizen Hari."

He smiled slightly and nodded, "I believe my son has been talking about you as well, Echizen-san. You played tennis with him and his friends a while back if I'm not mistaken?"

"Yes," Hari smiled softly and glanced over at Minoru. "We met in a park and ended up playing. It was a nice day."

"It was fun," Minoru said. "And her brother is teaching at my club now too!"

Hari blinked and looked at him.

"Ryoga-nii is?" She asked.

"Mhm," Minoru nodded. "Didn't you know?"

"No," Hari frowned slightly. "He never told me that…"

"You're brother plays tennis as well?" Kasumi asked curiously.

"Yeah, both of them do," Hari said with a small smile.

"Ryoga-sensei is really good," Minoru said.

Hari felt her lips twitch amused. Ryoga-sensei? Oh, just wait until she could call him that…

"I bet he is," Hari said.

"Will you be staying for dinner, Hari-chan?" Kasumi asked. She was smiling and was already moving toward a door to the left and Hari had the impression that she didn't really have a choice. Hari glanced at Seiichi who smiled and gave a slight nod.

"I would love to," Hari said.

"Great," Kasumi said just before she disappeared out of the room.

"You have another brother too?" Minoru asked suddenly. "Did I know that?"

Hari wasn't sure if she had mentioned Ryoma to him before or not so she shrugged.

"I have a younger brother as well," Hari said. "He's a year younger than me."

"Oh. And he plays tennis?"

"Yeah," Hari nodded. "Ryo-chan is a regular on our team. He's good."

"Ryo-chan?" Minoru asked tilting his head to the side.

"Ryoma," Hari said. "I just decided to call him Ryo-chan when I met him."

"Oh," Minoru said. "I'll look forward to seeing him play, then."

Hari smiled and laughed softly.

"They get along great," Seiichi told his uncle who was watching his son eagerly talk with Hari. Ryouichi glanced at Seiichi and smiled slightly.

"I can see that," he said. "That's good."

...

Seiichi excused them so that he could show her something and she glanced at him curiously as they walked to the back of the house passing a library (Hermione would have loved having a room like that) and a small living room before they ended up in a beautiful garden with a lot of different kinds of flowers.

"Pretty," she said looking around.

"You like it?" He asked.

"Yeah," she nodded before looking at him curiously noting the almost nervous look on his face. "Is it your work?"

He smiled and nodded, "aunt Kasumi asked me to help her with her garden last year. I only just finished it."

She noticed the almost sad look on his face and guessed that the reason he was only just finished was because of his illness. She squeezed his hand lightly before she looked around with awe as she took in the stone path surrounded by flowers and on both sides. As they walked down the path hand in hand she noticed some figurines among the flowers and some stones balancing on top of each other. She paused as she looked at them. She noticed the water spurting up from the top of it and realised that it was a small fountain.

"Awesome," Hari said making Seiichi smile.

They continued to walk through the garden and Hari pausing to look at the flowers and Seiichi telling her what kind it was or what they meant. It wasn't a very large garden or the part that Seiichi had created, but it was beautiful and they used time to go through it.

"You're amazing," Hari said when they stopped having reached the house again.

"It's nothing much," Seiichi said almost looking embarrassed.

Hari smiled and stepped closer to him and watched as his eyes widened slightly when she put her arms around his neck and pulled him down. She was not sure where her courage came from, maybe it was the garden or maybe it was the fact that they had gotten over their first fight (or whatever it had been). She kissed him and soon felt him put his arms around her waist pulling her closer and kissing her back.

She smiled into the kiss before he pulled back and rested his forehead against hers.

"Your garden is beautiful, Sei-chan," she said breathlessly. "You're really talented."

"Thank you," he said before leaning in to kiss her lightly again.

...

Dinner was interesting. With Seiichi's team staying there as well it was lively and while they were not as chaotic as her own team they still created a lot of life. It had Hari really impressed with Seiichi's aunt, and uncle but mainly his aunt, who had opened their home for them during the tournament. She was not sure many would do that, but it looked like Kasumi enjoyed it.

"That serve of yours is interesting," Sanada said looking over at Hari.

Hari blinked at him before she smiled.

"You mean the Phoenix Rising?" she asked.

"That's what it's called?" Sanada asked curiously even if he looked rather stoic.

"It's as good a name as any," Hari shrugged. "And it's a great symbolism of my life as well."

"How did you come up with it?" Sanada asked.

"Well, I managed to get my slice serve pretty good with Tezuka-Captain's help when I started the boys' team," Hari said. "And I thought I wanted to add to it and make it better, but I wasn't sure how so I used the time to research and work on it. I just kept working on my own at first, but then Shu-chan figured out that I was trying something and offered to help."

"But why call it Phoenix Rising?" Sanada asked.

"I kept picturing a bird as I was jumping up to do the follow-up and use the backhand volley," Hari explained. "So, I decided on a phoenix. I really like phoenixes."

"Like phoenixes?" Kirihara asked showing that the others also had been paying attention to their conversation. "They're not real, though…"

Hari blinked and opened her mouth before she closed it remembering that they would believe that a phoenix was only a myth. She silently cursed herself.

"I…I know that," Hari said looking down at her almost empty plate of food. "But I like the idea of them. I read a book that had a phoenix in it and just the idea of them symbolising rebirth and new beginnings… well, it's just what I wanted." She wasn't lying, the book _Fantastic Beast and Where to Find Them_ written by Newt Scamander had phoenixes in them and she had read that book.

Sanada looked at her for a moment before he nodded and smiled slightly. They talked some more about tennis in general and Hari noticed Seiichi giving her and Sanada pleased looks but she pretended that she didn't notice as she focused on the discussion with the taller boy.

"Oh, I'm so full…" Kirihara groaned leaning back and closed his eyes.

"Are you sure you don't want more, Akaya-kun?" Kasumi asked.

Hari bit down on her lip to stop the laugh escaping when she saw the panicked expression on Kirihara's face as he looked at Kasumi who looked at him with a small pout (an actual pout!) but Hari noticed the mischievous look in her eyes as well.

"Oh…um…" he stammered.

His friends didn't have Hari's restraint and started to laugh.

"Okaa-san, I don't think he wants more," Minoru said with a smile.

"Well, I guess that is okay," Kasumi smiled and looked to Hari. "Do you want more, Hari-chan?"

"Thank you, but I think I will need to stop now," Hari said politely. "It was amazing, Yukimura-san. Thank you for the food."

She smiled and nodded.

...

Ryouichi was watching Hari and Seiichi during the meal and he was interested to see her interacting more with Sanada who always was so calm and stoic. It was interesting to see him initiate a conversation with someone outside of his circle of friends. He also noticed that Seiichi seemed pleased to see the two talking and seemingly getting along.

Ryouichi was curious about the girl that was dating his nephew. He wasn't blind to the shadows in her eyes and he wondered if Seiichi had noticed them or not, something told him that he probably hadn't. Not fully at least, but Ryouichi had and it worried him a little.

He couldn't help but think that the look in her eyes, the shadows he saw, was the same look that some of his friends in the police department had. The look that said that they'd seen too much and maybe even also done too much, but what could give a girl at barely 14 that look? It was troubling. He also noticed the way she had looked at him and even at Kasumi when they met like she was expecting them to turn her away or something.

He knew his brother and sister-in-law was curious about this girl as well. And he couldn't wait until he could tell his big-brother that he had met her. He only wanted to reassure his brother that Seiichi was seeing a good and pretty girl and that she seemed too really like their son…he was not doing it to rub it in that he had met her first. No, not at all…

...

Hari was smiling as she went to bed thinking about how she and Seiichi still were good and the way he kissed her making her feel like giggling into the darkening room. She held a hand over her mouth to stop herself and could feel the grin under her hand.

"I'm going crazy," she muttered to herself as she shook her head. "Crazy. I never thought…but it's Seiichi…"

She sighed and turned on her bed still smiling and her eyes landed on the Defence Against the Dark Arts book that she had been reading (because she had to) earlier and her smile dropped.

Right.

Her scar or head or something had acted oddly earlier and what was up with that?

She had purposely pushed the thoughts out of her head and focused on Seiichi and his odd behaviour and then how to fix it when she had realised why (she really had to thank Hermione later). But now the thoughts came back for full and she knew she wouldn't be able to push it away any longer.

What had that odd feeling she had that wasn't hers meant? Was it really connected to Voldemort or was she just going crazy?

And more importantly; what was she going to do about it? It had been really strange and she couldn't explain it, and normally when things she couldn't explain happened around her it was connected to Voldemort somehow. At least the last couple of years… what worried her most was the fact that she had felt something that was clearly not coming from her, but then who could it come from? And how?

...

The next morning Hari sleepily made her way down to the kitchen where Nanjiro about to eat his breakfast. Nanako was preparing more food at the stove and Hari accepted her plate with a quiet thank you before sitting down to eat.

"Japanese breakfast is the best," Nanjiro sighed happily.

Hari smiled and nodded, "it's good."

"Why are you up already, Hari-chan?" Nanako asked.

"Morning practice," Hari said between bites. She was really tired, though and she felt like sleeping more but knew she had to go to the practice. They would probably already be fewer than normal because of the injuries. But yeah, she was still really tired. She had barely slept anything at all because her mind refused to turn off.

"Morning," a tired voice said and Hari looked to see Ryoga coming into the kitchen stifling a yawn behind his hand. He looked at her with a searching look when he noticed her sitting at the table eating. "Hari-chan, you disappeared yesterday."

"You wanted to see me?" Hari asked curiously.

Nanjiro was pouting knowing where she had been and been told by both Hari and Rinko that he was overreacting and to stop talking.

"Granger-san seemed worried about you," Ryoga said looking at her. "So, I was concerned."

Hari blinked and smiled slightly before she blanked her face.

"Oh, I see," Hari said. "Well, it was just a misunderstanding and me being dense. I fixed it."

Ryoga hummed and sat down to eat as well.

"You're not dense," Nanjiro protested with a frown. "You're just…you."

Hari and Ryoga exchanged amused looks before Hari smiled at her adopted father.

"Thanks, Otou-chan, but I'm afraid I can be pretty dense sometimes," she said.

Ryoga nodded and Hari scowled at him.

"What?" He asked.

"You could pretend that I'm not, you know," she said.

"Why? You admit it yourself, "he smirked. "So why should I pretend that you're not dense when you are? And better yet, knows it?"

Hari huffed seeing that he was way too amused. She suddenly blinked and smiled innocently at him making Ryoga blink and look at her a little warily.

"What?" he asked.

"Hmm?" Hari smiled.

"Why are you looking at me like that," Ryoga asked.

"Like what?" Hari asked pretending to look confused and glanced at Nanjiro who was watching them with amusement even as he ate.

"Like…like that!" Ryoga pointed at her.

"I don't understand what you mean," Hari said before smirking. "Ryoga-sensei."

Silence.

Then Nanjiro barked a laugh spraying rice over the table as he did so.

"Ew, Otou-chan!" Hari complained. "That's gross!"

Ryoga was frowning as he looked at her. "Don't call me that."

"Why not, Ryoga-sensei?" Hari blinked innocently at him.

She was having fun despite feeling tired.

"It sounds creepy coming from you!" Ryoga complained. "Where did you get that anyway?"

"Ryoga-sensei, Ryoga-sensei," Nanjiro was muttering. "Hahaha…Oh…So funny…Ryoga-sensei…"

"SHUT UP! STUPID, OYAJI!" Ryoga snapped.

Hari laughed.

"Hari-chan," Ryoga looked at her.

"Minoru-chan told me you were his teacher at his tennis club," Hari explained with a smile. "He called you Ryoga-sensei."

Ryoga frowned, "I tried to make him stop but he won't."

"Ah, don't pout," Hari said.

Suddenly they heard a crash from the floor above them and Hari glanced at the clock realising that she had been sitting in the kitchen for too long and had forgotten the time. She got up just as the hurried steps down the stairs was heard and the door to the kitchen was flung open.

"I overslept," Ryoma said unnecessarily.

"I tried to wake you," Hari shrugged when he looked at her. "It's not my fault you just turned around and continued sleeping."

"Hmph," Ryoma huffed.

"I have some Japanese breakfast for you here, Ryoma," Nanako said turning from the stove holding out a fish on a small plate. Hari saw Ryoma pale and gulping as he shook his head.

"No thank you," he said. "I don't want breakfast. We have morning practice."

Hari knew Ryoma wasn't fond of Japanese breakfast so she didn't point out that he should eat because they had morning practice.

"Come on, Ryo-chan," Hari said. "We're late."

"Don't worry about breakfast, Ryoma!" Nanjiro yelled. "I'll eat your share!"

"Stupid, Oyaji," Ryoma muttered.

...

Since the number of schools participating in the Kantou Tournament was quite a lot they had split the schools up in different groups meaning that while they had their first day of the tournament yesterday other schools (like Rikkai Dai) had their first day now. And Hari really wanted to go and watch them play, but since their school was in Tokyo they weren't excused from school on the days they didn't have a match and had to attend.

So, she couldn't go and watch Seiichi's team play. She knew Seiichi wasn't going to play, he still couldn't, but she still wanted to see his team and support him like he had done for her yesterday. And she kind of missed him even if she had seen him the night before.

She sighed as she got out of her changing room to join the others for their morning practice.

"Hey, you okay?" Fuji asked coming up to her.

"Yeah, you?" Hari smiled at him.

"Of course," Fuji smiled.

"Ah, Kawamura-senpai is here," Hari smiled relieved when she saw the upperclassman talking with Inui.

"He refuses to stay away," Fuji said but there was a fond note in his voice. "Says he can still do some things."

Hari laughed and nodded, "good attitude."

Hari felt her smile slip off her face as she looked over the tennis club. Her friends were here, this was the people who had welcomed her from the start and accepted her as one of theirs. She swallowed as her mind flashed to cold red eyes and a taunting laugh. She couldn't help but think that she could lose all of this…

Fuji glanced over at Hari and frowned slightly when he saw the almost sad look on her face as she looked at the scene in front of them, it was like she was taking it all in but thinking it wasn't for her or something. But what had made her look like that? What was she thinking?

"Oi! Hari!" Ryoma came over and Fuji noticed the worried look in his eyes as he called out for her. He was sure that Ryoma did it to break the sad look on her face and it worked because Hari blinked and smiled when she saw Ryoma.

"Oh, Ryo-chan;" she said. "What is it?"

"What are you doing spacing out like that?" Ryoma asked.

"Ah, sorry," Hari laughed lightly. "Just thinking."

"Dangerous," Ryoma muttered.

"Oi!" Hari protested.

Fuji closed his eyes again and smiled as he watched the two siblings bicker. It was good to see that Ryoma managed to get her out of whatever mood she had been about to slip into, but it worried Fuji a little with how easy (in lack of better word) it had been for Hari to push it away and smile and hide the shadows away like they never had been there at all.

...

Hari stood beside Ryoma as Ryuzaki gave the morning speech about how she was proud of the work they had done against Hyotei, but that they now had to focus on the next match. It was pretty standard but Hari was well aware that they were missing someone and knew that the rest of the club was aware of it as well.

Just as Ryuzaki was finishing her talk Oishi spoke up and asked the question everyone was wondering.

"Um…About…Tezuka?" He looked really nervous and concerned as he asked and Hari knew he had been holding it in for a while.

Ryuzaki looked at him before she looked over the rest of the team and club with a serious look on her face. She was grim and Hari knew they all understood what she was about to say before she said it.

"You saw his injury," Ryuzaki said. "He won't be back for a while."

"I see," Oishi said bowing his head.

"I'll be counting on you, Vice-Captain," Ryuzaki said looking at Oishi with a surprisingly soft expression on her face.

"Yes!" Oishi said firmly.

"Kantou Regionals just started," Ryuzaki said. "There's no guarantee that the regulars will stay the same! The current none-regular should practice with the goal of becoming a regular!"

"Yes!" The collective answer from the none-regular sounded and Hari felt her lips twitch amused.

It was good to see their spirits were up. She noticed that the others as well seemed pleased to see it even if they were worried about Tezuka. It was a great loss, but there was nothing they could do about it at the moment. They had to do their part in order for Tezuka's will and wishes for the club to not be for nothing.

...

"Here, Oishi-san," Yoshida said handing him some papers.

"Thank you, Yoshida-san," Oishi said. "This is the practice menu for the regulars that Inui and Yoshida have been working on. It's to overcome the difficulties met in the Hyotei game before our next match."

Hari stifled a yawn as she felt the tiredness settle over her. She did want to pay attention to what Oishi was saying, but she was just so tired… She glanced over at Yoshida who was looking determined and excited as she stood beside Oishi.

"It is also a menu that will guide us to the Nationals," Inui spoke up. "Everyone should use this to prepare."

Hari nodded and answered with the others as she accepted her piece of paper from Yoshida. She glanced down at it and saw the detailed and rather complicated notes on it. She arched a brow impressed.

"Here, Hari-chan," Yoshida said holding out two weights for her and Hari nodded as she took them.

"Thanks," she said. "Good plan, Yoshida-san. You've done a lot of work with this."

"It's mostly Inui-san," Yoshida said with a blush.

"You've done your part as well, I am sure," Hari said with a smile. "You and Inui work well together."

Yoshida shrugged and looked over at Inui who was talking with Oishi about something.

"I guess," Yoshida said. "But I feel like he could do this without me as well."

"Maybe, but that doesn't mean that your help isn't appreciated," Hari said giving Yoshida a close look. "It must be a relief for him to have someone to help with the burden of being both a regular and a manager. I'm sure you are helping more than you think."

Yoshida looked at her before she smiled and nodded.

"Thank you, Hari-chan;" she said.

"No problem," Hari said before waving the paper. "I should get started with this…"

...

Hari jumped up on the low wall before jumping down again feeling the sweat dripping from her forehead. She jumped again feeling the extra strain on her legs from the weights she had put on and refused to allow the strain to show on her face.

A little bit away from her Ryoma was hitting milk cartons off the wall with tennis balls in rapid succession. He was getting faster and faster and looked really determined. She smiled slightly as she noticed this before she turned her focus back to what she was doing. It was starting to get really tiring.

"Good job," Inui said making Hari pause her jumping and turn to look at Inui.

"You too," she said glancing down at his ankles seeing the weights he was wearing as well. He looked perfectly at ease, though.

"Morning practice is over," he said. "Gather at the court."

"Okay," Hari said.

He nodded and walked away as easily as he had come. She shook her head and stretched feeling happy that she was finally done with her exercise as her legs started to feel like they were made out of rubber or jelly.

"You okay?" Ryoma asked coming up beside her.

"Fine," Hari smiled slightly at him. "Just tired."

He nodded and they walked back to the court in silence.

...

Hari sighed and rubbed her eyes tiredly as she stepped out of her changing room again when the practice was over and she had changed into her school uniform. She felt her head throb slightly from the lack of sleep and just how much she was trying not to think about magic or her worries. It was tiring in itself. She blinked when she heard a commotion coming from what she believed was the front of the building. Curiously she walked toward it so she could see what was going on.

She blinked as she saw Kachiro and Arai facing each other, Arai had his back to her so she couldn't see his face, but Kachiro was glaring. He looked like he was physically trying to block the older boy from passing him.

"Using injuries to become a regular is cowardly!" Kachiro said. "Please gain a regular spot the right way!"

Hari frowned slightly as she looked at Kachiro ignoring the rest of the reactions from Arai's friends as she focused on Kachiro. He looked determined and upset.

"If you want to lecture me, beat me in tennis first," Arai said.

Ah, she should stop this. But she was so tired and the look on Kachiro's face had her hesitating. What was he doing? She doubted that he would listen to her even if she did interfere.

"A guy who can't play a game has years to go before he can complain," Arai continued.

Harsh, but kind of true, Hari thought as she saw the shocked look on Kachiro's face before a new determination settled on it as he glared up at Arai.

"I got it, let's play a game!" Kachiro said.

Hari arched a brow. She had kind of seen that coming, but she knew that right now Kachiro was at a disadvantage. She quietly observed how they set the term. If Arai lost he would apologize and recognise Kachiro's comments, Arai even said he would quit if he lost. Kachiro interrupted Arai when he was saying what he wanted Kachiro to do if he lost by saying that he would quit as well. Hari knew that Arai hadn't expected that and wouldn't have asked for it, but the words were out and they both agreed.

Oh. Shit. This was getting complicated.

...

Hari decided to go and see Ryoma during the lunch break and waved at Momoshiro and Kaido who both looked at her as she slipped out of the door. She was curious about what Kachiro was going to do about the game he had set up and knew she probably should help him, but then again this was something he had done by himself.

She was not that surprised to see Kachiro, Mizuno and Horio standing outside of Ryoma's classroom talking with Ryoma. Ryoma didn't look all that interested Hari noted. He was looking at his empty milk carton with a small frown.

"Forget it!" Kachiro suddenly yelled.

Kachiro turned and walked away making Mizuno and Horio call after him as they ran to catch up. Ryoma sighed tiredly.

"He seems to be worked up," Hari said stepping up to Ryoma.

"Hm." Ryoma sighed.

"Well, you won't help him?" Hari glanced at Ryoma.

"What can I do?" Ryoma asked. "He was the one who made the bet."

"Yeah, but he is new to tennis," Hari said. "He doesn't understand how it works yet…and he has an honest character."

Ryoma glanced at her.

"Then why don't you help him?" Ryoma asked.

Hari frowned slightly and shrugged.

"Guess I'm not sure how," she said.

Ryoma nodded and glanced after Kachiro and his other friends. Hari could tell he was worried even if he hadn't accepted to help.

...

Kachiro was fuming. He stalked through the hallway as he felt anger boil inside of him. Why didn't anyone care that Tezuka was injured? That Oishi and Kawamura were injured? Why did they only see themselves and their chance to become a regular?

It wasn't right! It wasn't how it was supposed to be!

And Ryoma…Ryoma was just like the others. He didn't care! Why didn't he care? Kachiro had been sure that Ryoma would understand! That he would care!

Why didn't they care? Tezuka and Kawamura had been injured because they did their best to win for the team? And now they all just stepped over their hard work and sacrifice to get a spot for themselves?

"Kachiro-kun," a voice said making him stop and look up to see Hari standing in front of him with a pensive look on her face. Horio and Mizuno exclaimed surprised behind him as they hadn't noticed her either. "You seem to be angry."

"What do you care?" He asked defiantly.

"Well, who knows," Hari shrugged as she put her hands in her pocket still watching him.

"No one cares!" Kachiro snapped.

Hari looked at him for a long moment.

"That is hardly fair of you to say, Kachiro-kun," Hari finally said.

"Eh?"

"Hari-chan-senpai!" Horio and Mizuno cried.

Hari glanced at them before looking back at Kachiro who was glaring at her.

"They don't! Not when all they can think about is who will take Tezuka's spot! They only think about themselves! After all the hard work Tezuka-captain did!" Kachiro had tears in his eyes as he glared at her. He moved to walk past her and she let him.

"You still have much to learn about the sport, Kachiro-kun," Hari said when he passed her. "I admire your determination and honest character, but it will only get you hurt. Sport is about more than just one person, we're a team. All of us. It's not about not caring. It's all about hard work and wanting to help the team. Who's to say that Arai isn't working hard for the team as well?"

Kachiro hesitated for a moment before he continued to walk away.

...

"Come on, Shu-chan," Hari said looking at Fuji. "We have someplace we should be."

"Eh? Where?" Fuji asked.

"Yeah, where, nya?" Kikumaru asked excitedly.

They had been running around the school and Hari wanted to see if Kachiro really was going to go through with his game against Arai.

"The courts," Hari said turning to the courts and jogged in that direction.

"Why?" Kikumaru asked.

"There's something I want to see there," Hari said and they both look curiously at her before they followed her.

"Oh, I see," Fuji said when they reached the court and saw the game that had already started.

By the looks of it Kachiro was losing, but he refused to give up and was running and trying to return every ball. He fell and fell but always got back up.

Hari heard Horio and Mizuno plead with Fuji to stop the game but Fuji just smiled and said it would be alright.

Hari felt a stab of regret for not stopping it when she could have, but at the same time, she hoped that maybe both Kachiro and Arai could learn something from this. Sometimes you needed to clash like this in order to understand the other. At least that was what she was hoping.

She noticed Ryoma standing under a tree watching with focused eyes. She knew he would not be able to stay away from Kachiro's match. She smiled slightly.

Kachiro returned a ball and Arai failed to return it again as he stumbled looking more tired than he should, making Hari arched a brow as she looked at Arai.

Just then Oishi entered the court with Inui and stopped the match.

...

Hari was on her way out of the school gate when she heard a voice calling her name.

"Hari-chan-senpai!"

Hari turned and saw Kachiro coming running toward her. She arched a brow but stopped to wait for the boy to catch up with her.

"Kachiro-kun," Hari said looking at him curiously.

"I…I…" he gasped for breath.

"Calm down," Hari said kindly. "I'll wait for you to catch your breath so don't stress."

Kachiro nodded and took a moment to catch his breath again.

"I wanted to apologize," Kachiro said.

"Eh? Why?" Hari blinked.

"For the way I talked to you," Kachiro looked down. "I shouldn't have talked to you like that."

"It's fine," Hari said with a smile. "I didn't take offence. I know how you felt and it's not entirely wrong."

"But Arai-senpai worked hard as well," Kachiro said. "I know that now. He…he was wearing weights on his legs as he played me..."

"He works hard and so does the rest," Hari said. "And we all care about what happened to Tezuka-captain and the others who were injured, but sports are about chances and luck. Sometimes an injury is your chance to show what you can do and how you can help. It's a good thing to have good players ready to step in when needed."

"I…" Kachiro looked down.

"But you're right as well," Hari said making him look at her again. "Most became too excited and forgot to watch how they spoke. They did become too brash in the way they talked and seemed to be insensitive. It's good to show some compassion and understanding when talking about injuries and a teammate like that."

Kachiro nodded and smiled slightly.

"You played well," Hari said. "It's good that you didn't give up."

"Thanks!" Kachiro smiled. "Do…um…do you…"

"What is it?" Hari asked when he faltered and blushed as he looked away.

"I was wondering if you could maybe help me with my tennis sometime," Kachiro asked rather rushed but Hari managed to get the meaning.

"Oh. You sure you want me to help?" Hari blinked. "I mean, Ryo-chan will be a much better teacher than me."

"Ryoma-kun is busy and I wanted to ask you," Kachiro said looking at her with wide eyes. "Sakuno-chan always says you helped her a lot with her tennis and she's gotten better!"

Hari considered this. She guessed it wasn't anything against her doing it, but she wasn't sure how much time she had to do this as well.

"Alright," Hari finally said. "But I can't promise that I can do it every day or anything, okay?"

"Okay!" Kachiro smiled and nodded.

...

Hari sighed as she fell back on the bed staring at the ceiling. Her mind back at what had been lurking behind everything the entire day. Voldemort. Had he been responsible for the pain in her scar and nausea the day before? But how could he be? He couldn't possibly be anywhere close to her now…could he?

She turned and stared out of the window. Why did everything have to come back to him? She had left! She wasn't concerned with Voldemort anymore!

…only she felt like she was lying to herself. Why couldn't she just escape from everything? She hated her magic. It had been so promising. Getting her away from her relatives, finding a place where she belonged but the only thing she had found was danger and expectations of her being someone she was not.

"Hari-chan?" Ryoga asked as he opened the door.

Hari turned her head to look at Ryoga who was frowning slightly.

"Nii-san," Hari said turning back to stare at the ceiling.

"Are you alright?" Ryoga asked.

Hari managed to shrug even as she was lying on her back.

"So, how do you like teaching tennis?" Hari asked glancing at Ryoga who sat down on the edge of her bed.

"It's alright," Ryoga said. "Most of the time at least."

"Minoru-chan really likes you as his teacher," Hari said glancing at Ryoga. "He couldn't stop talking about you."

Ryoga smiled and chuckled, "he's a talented young player. It's fun to teach someone like him."

Hari nodded and looked away from her brother again.

"Why aren't you going pro?" Hari suddenly asked. "You're good enough."

Ryoga was silent for a moment as he thought about what to say.

"Because I don't want to make tennis too serious right now," he finally said. "I'm starting the new High School next week, and I want to join the tennis team there. If I'm a pro then I can't do that, and right now I think that I just need to have some fun with my tennis. Besides, if I'm a pro then I will need to travel more and I couldn't stay here as long."

"So, you want to stay close to Otou-chan and Ryo-chan," Hari said.

"And you," Ryoga said and Hari looked at him surprised. "Don't look so surprised, Hari-chan. You're my sister now, you know. I want to watch you and Ryoma play tennis and be here to get to know you even better. Besides, you're the one who dragged me home again."

Hari blinked at him not knowing what she felt as she watched him. Was he serious? It did look like he meant it… She smiled and without thinking about it hugged him feeling him hugging her back and patting her back.

She knew he was probably confused at the sudden hug or why she reacted like this, she could feel tears in her eyes, but he just held her and didn't say anything. It meant a lot to Hari.

This was what she was looking for. A place to belong, a place where she had parents (Nanjiro and Rinko was amazing parents) and brothers (both Ryoga and Ryoma had grown dearer to her than she could possibly explain) and friends (both her team and other teams and even some of her old friends from Hogwarts) and even a boyfriend (Seiichi was too good to be true and she was so lucky that he even noticed her).

And this was what she was going to fight for. She was not just going to accept that Voldemort was out there and after her, she was not going back there and lose this. No. She was going to fight to stay right here with her family and friends.

 **...**

 **...**

 **AN:** **What do you think? XD**

 **Hope you liked it! I'm not totally happy with the chapter, to be honest, but it's good enough, I suppose. :)**

 **Thank you for your support and patience as always! XD I really am grateful for every comment/review, kudos/favourite/follower that I get! XD**

 **Japanese words used:**  
 **Senpai - upperclassman**  
 **Okaa-san - mum**  
 **Oyaji - old man/dad**


	43. A Fight, a Goblin and a Monk

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Prince of Tennis!**

 **...**

 **...**

 **...**

Ron and Hermione were looking at her. Ron looked confused but also a little upset, though Hermione looked interested and intrigued.

"You want to learn how to fight?" Hermione asked.

"Kind of," Hari nodded. "I want to be able to defend myself and my friends and family."

"How…What…You could learn that at Hogwarts," Ron muttered.

Hari glanced at him before looking back at Hermione deciding to ignore Ron's comment for now. She wasn't sure he meant for her to hear him or not.

"I don't really want to have anything to do with magic anymore," Hari explained. "But…I guess I can't run away from magic even though I really want to."

"Hari, magic isn't a bad thing," Hermione said.

"Magic is not a great thing either," Hari shot back. "It always takes away what's important to me. My parents, Sirius, even Remus and now it threatens to take away my new family as well."

Hermione looked at her with a look that clearly said she disagreed but tried to keep it back. She did notice that Ron's ears were turning slightly red…

"What about us?" Ron asked. "We're magic. Do you regret meeting us? We're still here!"

"I know that," Hari blinked. "I…"

"You talk about your new life and everything here but what about us? What about mum and dad? They worry about you too." Ron demanded.

Hari looked at him and knew that he had reached his breaking point. She glanced at Hermione who looked concerned but she didn't interrupt only gave Hari a look that said that she needed to talk to him.

"I don't regret meeting you, Ron," Hari protested with a frown.

"It sure looks like it," he said and started to pace in her room. She watched him as he did and his ears turned even redder. "You only talk about tennis or your friends in tennis or your new family. I thought we were your family. We see you as one of us, but you only talk about Echizen and you never ask about how mum and dad are… It's like we don't matter to you at all."

Hari blinked.

"I…"She trailed off unable to find words because she really didn't know what to say. She could feel her throat thicken as tears welled up in her eyes but she forced them back because she didn't want to cry. Ron scoffed and turned his back on her and she could see the tension in his shoulders. He had gotten even taller she suddenly realised looking at him. She thought about what he had said and realised that she had probably neglected to ask about his family as she should have, but she couldn't help but feel a little disappointed that they had ignored sure signs of neglect from the Dursley's. She wouldn't call it abuse even if Rinko said it was. She just couldn't use that word, it made her feel weak. Though, logically she knew she wasn't weak.

"Ron, I don't mean it like that," she finally said. "I just… Can't you see that here I can be me without the whole Girl-Who-Lived pressure hanging over me?"

Ron slowly turned to look at her and she inhaled deeply at the look in his eyes. She couldn't quite name the emotions she saw in his eyes.

"You're still the Girl-Who-Lived even if you're here, Hari," Ron said. "It doesn't change who you are."

Hari flinched like she had been struck. A moment she couldn't react or do anything but then her hands fisted at her sides as she glared at him. His words hit home in a way she didn't really want to admit. She might have gotten a new determination to fight, but that didn't mean that she liked that stupid title or that she did this because of it.

"That's rubbish!" Hari snapped. "I'm Hari! I don't care about that title and if you can't see me as Hari then I don't even know why you're here!"

Hari got off her bed and stalked out of her room unable to stay in the same room as him anymore. His words hurt. She could feel tears in her eyes and this time she couldn't stop them from escaping and she quickly rubbed it angrily away with the back of her hand. He really did see her as the Girl-Who-Lived… She had thought…hoped that he had started to see her as Hari.

...

Hermione looked worriedly after Hari as she left the room and remembered the worries she had admitted to her earlier about how she feared them only seeing the Girl-Who-Lived and not her and not dealing with Hari breaking free from that title. Hermione glared angrily at Ron who blinked as the door closed behind Hari and looked confused but also stubborn. Without holding back (much) she hit his arm. Hard.

"Ouch!" he grumbled rubbing his arm as he glared at Hermione. "What did you do that for?!"

"Stupid git," Hermione hissed.

"What?" Ron asked defensively.

"How could you say that she is the Girl-Who-Lived?!" Hermione demanded.

"But…she is," Ron said.

"No, she's Hari!" Hermione snapped. "You idiot! Do you have any idea what you just did? Eh? What were you thinking?!"

"What?" Ron scowled. "I was just…"

"You were just nothing!" Hermione interrupted. "You just confirmed Hari's fears! She fears us only seeing what everyone else sees, Ron! The Girl-Who-Lived, the hero, the one who has to be perfect all the time and save the day!"

Ron frowned, "but that's not…"

"You said she was the Girl-Who-Lived and that even if she is here it doesn't change," Hermione repeated his words.

Ron was frowning even more deeply now and Hermione looked at him for a moment.

"Do…do you really just see her like that?" Hermione asked quietly.

"What? No!" Ron protested.

"You sure about that?" Hermione asked. "If Hari wasn't the Girl-Who-Lived would you still be her friend?"

Ron blinked.

"What kind of question is that?" Ron demanded angrily his ears turning red again.

Hermione stared at him and he scowled.

"Think about it," she said. "Hari has a right to be herself as well, you know. And she has her own dreams and hopes."

"I know that," Ron muttered.

"And she's allowed to have that independently from us," Hermione continued like he hadn't said anything. "I…I struggled to accept it. I wanted things to be as they were, but can't you see how much more free Hari is here, Ron? She can laugh without shadows in her eyes, and she can smile and have fun without worrying about You-Know-Who. Though, she has started to worry about him again now."

Hermione frowned at the last part. She had done a lot of thinking since her last talk with Hari and she realised that Hari was much more insecure than she had first believed. But now that she was more aware she kind of couldn't believe that she hadn't seen it before.

Ron didn't say anything and Hermione gave him one last disappointed look before she walked out of the room in search for Hari.

"Ah, Hermione-chan;" Rinko smiled.

"Do you know where Hari went?" Hermione asked.

Rinko looked momentarily surprised and glanced up the stairs.

"She left?" Rinko asked.

"Yeah…I…we kind of made her feel upset, I think," Hermione admitted ashamed.

"Well, she could have gone to the shrine," Rinko said. "I think I heard the door earlier but I thought it was Ryoma leaving."

"I see," Hermione said. "I'll see if she's there, then."

Rinko nodded and smiled at her making Hermione think that she was a rather warm woman and could see why Hari liked her so much.

...

Hari was seated in the bell tower (or what it was called) when Hermione found her and she could see that Hari had been crying but had wiped the tears off. She looked at the homemade tennis court with a sadness that had Hermione pause. What was she thinking? Had Ron really messed it up that bad?

"What are you doing here?" Hari asked not turning to look but obviously having heard or seen Hermione coming.

"I wanted to see if you were okay," Hermione said.

"I'm fine," Hari said.

Hermione walked up to the small bell tower (?) and sat down at the stairs and turned so she was facing Hari. She considered what to say. What could she say?

"You know he speaks without thinking," Hermione finally said.

"Yeah," Hari agreed. "That's how you learn what he really feels."

"No, you…" Hermione stopped.

"Whatever," Hari huffed. "I'm done trying to be someone I'm not. If that's not good enough for Ron, then…"

Hermione felt her eyes widen as she looked at Hari. She could see the hurt in her eyes but also the stubborn tilt of her head and she knew that Ron really had to do some grovelling if he wanted to fix this…

"He is just jealous, Hari," Hermione tried. "Please, just give him some time to think. He really cares about you. Don't doubt that."

Hari shrugged but didn't say anything and Hermione was not sure if she should involve herself more in this or not. She wished Ron had followed her but it didn't look like he had. Oh, why didn't he come running to apologize?!

"Um…about what you asked us about?" Hermione tried to change the subject back to the original starting point and saw Hari frown slightly before she turned to look at Hermione.

...

"I want to know what classes you think would be the best in order to learn how to defend myself with magic," Hari finally said. "If I have to learn more magic I want it to be in order to help me keep my new life here and all of those I care about. Including you and Ron."

Then a pause.

"If he gets his head out of his arse", Hari muttered so quietly that Hermione almost missed it.

"You've been thinking about this?" Hermione asked slightly surprised and felt a stab of guilt for not thinking that Hari would.

Hari shrugged and looked back over the tennis court.

"I have been lately," she admitted. "If I can't get away from magic then it should work for me instead of taking things from me if that makes sense."

Hermione nodded thoughtfully.

"Well, Defence Against the Dark Arts is a given," Hermione said and Hari nodded. "Then I guess Charms and Transfiguration are solid options as well."

"That's what I thought as well," Hari said. "But, do you think that's enough? I don't have the time to do a full course of magic. I can't do that with my muggle schooling and tennis at the same time."

Hermione frowned slightly but nodded.

"I think I would add some ancient runes," Hermione finally said. "Maybe they have some special ones that are connected to Japanese folklore or something. Though, it might be a bit too much to add that on top of everything else…"

Hermione looked down disappointed as she thought about the missed opportunity to learn something new but she looked up when she heard Hari chuckle and found Hari watching her with an amused smile.

"Never change, Hermione," Hari smiled looking a little more relaxed now.

"What?" Hermione asked confused.

"You're going to lookup more about Japanese magic when you get a free moment aren't you?" Hari asked with a knowing look and Hermione blushed a little.

"Well, it would be interesting…" Hermione said.

"I guess I should maybe talk to Gringotts?" Hari frowned pensively.

"Why?" Hermione asked blinking at the sudden change in subject.

"Maybe they have ways for me to buy some Runes or something," Hari said. "Protection around the house, you know?"

Hermione nodded thoughtfully.

"I guess there are some runes that would work like wards," she said trying to remember some she had learned this last year. "Professor Babbling did talk about it but she didn't go into depth because we're not set to learn more about it until fifth or sixth year."

Hari nodded.

...

Hari couldn't help but smile slightly as she and Hermione aired ideas. It was nice to have someone there she could actually talk to about magic when she needed it, even if she didn't want to talk about it a lot. But now when she was worried about it and wanted to actually step up and fight for what she wanted it was nice to have Hermione there. It almost felt like they were back to solving a mystery at Hogwarts again and a nostalgic feeling she couldn't quite understand filled her. She didn't miss the mysteries at Hogwarts, did she? The absence of Ron there beside them was something Hari did her best not to think about.

Hari frowned slightly as she pondered the new question that turned up in her mind. Deciding that she would think about it later she pushed the thought out of her mind and went back to focusing on the ideas that they were discussing.

"I guess we could go to the magical district," Hermione said pensively. "Maybe Bill could come with us?"

Hari bit down on her lower lip as she considered this.

"I don't know," Hari frowned. "You think Bill would be willing to help? And not ask too many questions?"

Hermione thought for a moment.

"He doesn't seem like the type to ask too many questions, Hari," Hermione said. "I think it will be easier to get the Goblins to help with Bill's help. They are very suspicious of wizards and witches, and with good reason, but if Bill who works with them they might be a little more agreeable."

Hari nodded thoughtfully as Hermione talked.

"You know Bill better than me," Hari said. "Then I guess we'll ask him if he would accompany us tomorrow."

"You could ask him if he knows more about wards and runes, as well," Hermione said.

"Maybe," Hari said.

...

"Hari-chan!" An yelled making both Hari and Hermione jump as they turned toward the gates of the shrine and saw the other girl coming running toward them.

"An-chan," Hari said getting up from her position and smiled slightly. "What are you doing here?"

"You didn't answer your phone!" An complained.

Hari blinked and pulled out her phone and gave An an apologetic look. "Ah, sorry, I didn't realise that it was on mute."

"Well, you should be sorry," An said dramatically as she collapsed on the ground breathing harder.

"How did you know I was here?" Hari asked.

"Your mum told me," An said. "And do you know that your older brother is hot?"

Hermione giggled when Hari grimaced.

"He's my brother," Hari said. "Please don't say that."

It was An that giggled now and Hari pouted.

"He is, isn't he?" Hermione added and Hari sighed as she plopped down next to An with a suffering sigh as An laughed for real now and high-fived Hermione.

"What do you want?" Hari asked trying to get the conversation away from Ryoga and how hot he was.

An blinked.

"What's wrong with Momoshiro-kun?" An asked turning wide eyes to Hari.

Hermione looked confused as she looked between Hari and An.

"He hasn't asked you out yet?" Hari asked.

"No, and he keeps calling me Tachibana's little sister!" An complained. "It's not like he doesn't know my name!"

Hari's lips twitched slightly as she looked at the pout on An's lips.

"Momo-chan can be a little dense," Hari said.

"It's strange to hear you call someone dense, Hari," Hermione commented amusedly.

Hari mock glared at her, "well, it's true. Momo-chan probably has no idea that you like him, An-chan."

"What can I do?" An asked. "I don't know how to get him to catch on…"

Hari hummed as she leaned against one of the poles and looked at An. She wasn't sure since (let's be honest here) she wasn't exactly that good at this kind of things herself. She glanced at Hermione who seemed to have caught on to what the problem was.

"Have you spent time with him?" Hermione asked.

"Yes," An nodded. "I meet him at the street court sometimes and we play tennis together, and talk."

"You should just ask him out yourself," Hari said.

"Eh? But…" An's eyes widened as she stared at Hari. "I can't do that!"

"It could be risky," Hermione agreed.

"Momo-chan probably won't catch on otherwise," Hari shrugged. "He likes you, An-chan. I'm sure about that, but he probably hasn't realised it yet or knows what to do about it."

An was silent for a moment and worried her lip as she thought and Hari didn't press her.

"You think that would work?" An finally asked looking nervous.

"I think it's the best chance," Hari nodded. "Though, I would probably get him to meet you before you tell him that it's a date."

Both An and Hermione stared at her.

"Why?" An asked.

"It's the best way to get his attention and show that you're serious," Hari shrugged before smiling. "Besides, it will be more amusing that way."

Hermione snorted while An looked pensive.

"Do you have his number?" An asked determined.

"Of course," Hari grinned.

...

It was the next day and Hari was pleased that they didn't have a practice that day. She had decided (in agreement with Hermione) that she would go to Gringotts and get started with her plan. While she had to wait until she got to talk with the advisor Hisakawa would send over to decide on the subjects she could take, she could get started on her other plans.

She saw Ryoma and Momoshiro walk out of the school together and she smiled slightly as she thought about An and her plans. She hoped that the other girl went through with it and that she managed to get Momoshiro. Thinking about it she quickly sent a text to An wishing her luck.

She saw Hermione and Bill standing at the corner and felt her stomach drop when she realised that Ron wasn't there. She tried to push the disappointment she felt away as she smiled at Bill.

"Thank you for coming," Hari said.

"No problem," he smiled easily enough. "If I can help with the goblins then I'm glad."

Hari smiled and nodded.

"I haven't really been to the magical district here," Hari said.

"Not even once?" Hermione asked surprised.

"I don't really want to be recognised," Hari said. "Even here I am rather well known to the magical population. Unfortunately."

With that said (ignoring the sad look from Hermione and the curious slash concerned one from Bill) she pulled out a cap that she had borrowed from Ryoma. She put it on and made sure it covered her scar and slightly shadowed her face.

They made their way to the hidden entrance to the magical district and instead of a brick wall like in London, there was an archway in a temple that led to the magical district in Tokyo. And just like the pub, only magical people could see the temple and therefore the archway inside of it.

"I wish I could bring Sei-chan here," Hari sighed as she looked at all the flowers inside the temple. He would love all these flowers, and some were magical and she knew he would be completely fascinated by the flowers here.

She saw a monk (a real one and not like Nanjiro) walk down a path and paused as if he felt her looking at him. He was bald and was dressed simply in a grey monk suit (or whatever it was called), and even from a distance, she felt the weight of his eyes on her as she felt like he was seeing straight through her before he bowed and continued on his way.

She shook herself out of whatever it was and followed Hermione and Bill to the archway and passed through it.

...

She blinked as she looked around the magical district and couldn't help the awe she felt. It was similar to the way she felt the first time she had seen Diagon Alley before everything had tainted the way she saw magic. It was a cross between traditional and modern, with some skyscrapers but there were traditional buildings in between. While it sounded strange and maybe a little too mismatch it made a very awe-inspiring picture.

"It's great, isn't it?" Hermione asked.

Hari swallowed and nodded. She couldn't help but feel tense and on edge as she walked. She couldn't help but feel that everyone who glanced at her would see through her light disguise… She did her best to calm herself down. She had to act normal or she would stick out just because she acted strangely.

She watched the people walking through the streets; some were hurrying while others were taking their time. She saw a little girl running through the street with a boy a little older than her chasing after her, they were both laughing.

"This way," Bill said leading the way through the streets until they reached a large building. While Gringotts in Diagon Alley was made of marble and looked impressive this one was made in traditional Japanese style and looked to be old but the details on the woodwork were amazing. The small figurines were even moving.

Hari looked away from the building and followed Bill into the bank. She noticed the Goblins behind their high counters. She wondered if they purposely had the counters so high in order to be able to look down at the wizards coming to the bank. It was a stray thought but she couldn't help but wonder.

She followed Bill who walked purposely to one of the counters and she saw the Goblin there nod his head slightly in recognition.

"Mr Weasley," the Goblin greeted his voice scratchy and hoarse.

"Rodrock," Bill said respectfully. "Hope you're having an awarding day flowing with gold."

The Goblin, Rodrock Hari corrected herself, nodded and gave Bill a searching look before he folded his hands together as he stared at the tall redhead.

"What can I do for you, Mr Weasley?" he asked.

"I was hoping you might have time to talk to a friend of mine," Bill said. "She has some questions about runes and wards you have to offer. We all know that Goblins have the best ones."

Rodrock narrowed his eyes for a moment before he glanced behind Bill and for the first time let his sharp blue eyes land on Hari. Hari felt like shifting on her feet under the stare but forced herself to remain still and met his eyes calmly.

"Follow me," he said sharply.

Hari glanced at Bill who gave a subtle nod and they followed the Goblin to an office. It was of medium size, or at least it looked like that to Hari, but it was elegantly decorated and proof of their wealth and fortune. She suddenly wished she had paid more attention to Professor Binns when he talked about the Goblins…

"Now," Rodrock said as he had taken a seat behind the desk and directed them to chairs in front of the desk. "What was it about wards and runes you wanted to know?"

Hari swallowed and noticed Bill look at her and she knew she had to take over now since Bill didn't really know the details about what they wanted.

"Good day, Rodrock-san," Hari got to her feet and bowed politely to the Goblin missing the startled look he gave her before he schooled his expression into an impassive mask again. "I'm Echizen Hari, but you might formally know me as Harriett Potter."

She decided that if she wanted the Goblin's help then she had to be honest and she couldn't hide who she really was. She removed the cap she was wearing as she turned her green eyes to his and saw the surprise in his eyes but he hid it quickly.

"And what would Miss Potter want with our runes?" Rodrock asked.

Hari inhaled and sat back down trying to remain calm and not look to Hermione who was beside her. She didn't want to appear uncertain and weak.

"I take it you know my history," Hari looked at him.

"Even among Goblins you are famous, Miss Potter," Rodrock said dryly. "You are well known among the magical countries."

Hari couldn't help the grimace that crossed her face as he spoke and she earned a curious look from the Goblin.

"You do not like your fame?" he asked.

"Not particularly, no," Hari said honestly. "But there's nothing I can do about it, or so it seems."

He just stared at her with a searching look in his eyes.

"Well, I wanted to ask for runes for protection around the house," Hari said deciding to keep going with what she came there for. "As you may have guessed I was recently adopted by a non-magical family and I do not want to place them in more danger than necessary. I know that given them being muggles I can't use too noticeable magic in order to protect them, or others will notice. But we had the thought that runes might be the thing we needed for that. Do you have some that could be of help, Rodrock-san?"

He was silent for a long time and Hari fought her impatience as she waited for him to say something. She wanted to ask him to answer but knew she shouldn't rush him.

"There might be some runes that could be of help for you, Miss Potter," Rodrock said.

Hari bit her lip to stop herself from snapping that she wasn't Hari Potter anymore. If her being a Potter would help then she guessed she would use it.

"How much would it cost?" Hari asked.

He looked at her again before he snapped his fingers and another Goblin came through the side door. She glanced at him before looking back at Rodrock who said something in a language she didn't understand and the other Goblin nodded and left. Not long after he returned with a stack of parchment and placed it on the desk in front of Rodrock.

"This is a guide for our runes," Rodrock explained. "We will see which ones you might be interested in and then we'll discuss the price."

Hari nodded and glanced at Hermione who looked interested and curiously at the stack of parchment and Hari knew she longed for a chance to read through it.

"There is a rune that will stop those with bad intention toward you or your family from entering the house," Rodrock said placing one of the parchment to the side. "Then there's one that will signal you if someone is trying to break-in. Another is to freeze the intruder so that they can't escape."

Hari nodded as he spoke.

"Those sounds amazing," she said. "Though, I am a little worried about the last one. What if the one breaking-in is a muggle? Won't that revile magic to them?"

"There's always the memory charm;" Rodrock said, "but we can tweak it so that it only reacts to a magical signature and therefor only freeze them."

Hari listened to him as he continued to list runes and what they did but she thought he had already mentioned those most relevant for her and her need. She couldn't have anything that could reveal magic to muggles should someone not magical trigger the runes. It would cause too much trouble.

...

"I would like the first three you mentioned," Hari said before glancing at Hermione and then Bill. Hermione had been a part of the discussion and asked questions when Hari hadn't known what to ask, while Bill had remained silent and just observed them with a pensive look in his clear blue eyes.

"I think those would be the best," Hermione nodded in agreement.

"Bill?" Hari asked looking at the eldest of the Weasley brothers.

"Those are good choices, Hari," Bill nodded. "Though, I would choose the tweaked one so that you don't accidentally reveal magic to someone."

Hari nodded and looked at Rodrock who had been quiet as he waited for them to talk about it.

"You have decided?" he asked.

"I…um, yes," Hari nodded. "Though I know I have some money in my vault, but I don't know how much. It was left for my schooling, but since I'm not attending Hogwarts anymore I guess I don't need it for the school supplies…"

Rodrock arched a brow at her.

"You never got a list over your vaults?" he asked.

Hari blinked.

"Eh? Vaults? I only have the one…" She said.

"I see," Rodrock said and got up. "Wait here."

...

Hari looked confused as the Goblin left the office and then looked at Hermione and Bill. Bill looked thoughtful while Hermione looked just as confused as Hari.

"Wonder what that is about," Hari said before sighing tiredly as she glanced at the clock. She winced slightly. They had been here for longer than she thought, and she knew they would be expecting her home soon.

"You didn't talk to your account manager when you visited Gringotts the first time?" Bill finally asked.

"No," Hari shook her head confused. "Should I have?"

Bill frowned but didn't answer making Hari glanced at Hermione who shrugged.

Rodrock entered the room again took his seat before he pulled out another parchment and a knife. Hari eyed the knife before looking at the Goblin.

"An inheritance test," Rodrock said sharply. "I will only need a drop of your blood."

Hari grimaced but when Bill nodded she agreed.

"It's needed in order to confirm your identity," Bill explained.

She accepted the knife from Rodrock and cut her finger barely wincing as she felt the cut and saw the blood trickle out of the small cut. She let a drop fall to the parchment when Rodrock motioned for her to do so and she smiled in thanks to Bill when he healed her cut with a simple spell.

She watched as writing started to appear on the parchment and read it when Rodrock offered it to her.

...

 **Inheritance Confirmation – Test Results:**

 **Name: Echizen Harriet Lily (formally Potter)**

 **Mother: Lily Potter (nee Evans)**

 **Father: James Potter**

 **Adopted mother: Echizen Rinko**

 **Adopted father: Echizen Nanjiro**

 **Adopted brothers: Echizen Ryoma - Echizen Ryoga**

 **Godfather: Sirius Black**

 **School vault: 30 000 Gallons, 15 Sickles and 342 Knuts**

 **Main vault: 800 000 Gallons, 380 Sickles and 212 Knuts**

...

Hari couldn't help but blink. It was more money than she had thought and she vaguely wondered what the exchange rate was between Gallon's and pounds were, or better yet yen. She thought she would maybe ask Bill later but right now she couldn't think about that.

...

It was late afternoon when they stepped back through the archway that brought them back to regular Tokyo and while Hari had enjoyed seeing the magical part of the city (she could admit that it was amazing) she felt a wave of relief filled her as she knew she was back at the normal side again.

She lingered behind the other two as she paused to look at a flower; she thought it looked like one of the flowers Seiichi had shown her. It suddenly bloomed in front of her; the white flower opened up and seemed to shine slightly as she stared at it in awe.

"Do you like the flower, Miss?" a calm voice asked her and she jumped before turning to see the same monk from earlier looking at her.

"It's beautiful," Hari said when she found her voice again.

"It's the asphodel," the monk said. "It's from the lily family."

"Oh," Hari said looking back at it. "I remember it from school, but…that one didn't shine like this one."

"It wouldn't," the monk said. "This one is special. It's the magical energy from this place that gives it the shining quality. It is also purer than the other one."

Hari smiled slightly but blinked when she noticed the way he looked at her. It was like he was trying to read her and she suddenly felt uncomfortable and nervous. She shifted slightly on her feet.

"I…um… It was nice to meet you, but I should find my friends," Hari said as politely as she could.

He nodded and smiled.

"You're always welcome back, Miss Potter," he said. "When the need arises. Help will be found here."

He turned and left before she could find her voice. She shook herself slightly before she glanced at the flower one more time (wishing that she could show it to Seiichi) and turned to catch up to Hermione and Bill.

She was almost out of the shrine when she stopped mid-step and her eyes widened. He had used her name. He knew who she was! But…She hadn't let him see the scar. She was sure she had it covered. So how did he know her name?

"Hari? Are you coming?" Hermione called.

...

Hari and Hermione walked to a nearby restaurant to eat dinner. Bill had said he should go back and meet his brothers and had told Hermione to be sure not to stay out too long. They were about to sit down when she noticed someone waving at her.

"Hari-chan!"

Hari smiled and changed direction knowing that Hermione would follow her.

"Hello, Minoru-chan," Hari smiled before looking to the side and saw Seiichi smiling at her with that smile that always made her heart skip a beat. "Sei-chan."

"Hello, Hari-chan," Yukimura Kazumi smiled.

"Yukimura-san," Hari smiled. "Nice to see you."

"You too," Kazumi said. "Who's your friend?"

"Oh," Hari said realising that Hermione was there as well. "This is one of my best friends from England, Hermione Granger. Hermione, this is Sei-chan's family, his cousin Minoru-chan and his aunt Yukimura Kazumi."

"Nice to meet you," Hermione said politely.

"Do you want to join us?" Kazumi asked.

Hari looked at Hermione letting it know it was up to her and when Hermione nodded Hari accepted for them and she took the free seat next to Seiichi while Hermione sat on the other side of the table beside Minoru.

"I didn't expect to see you here," Seiichi looked at her curiously.

"We have been exploring," Hari explained knowing she couldn't say they had been to the magical district in Tokyo. "And got hungry so we decided to stop here to eat."

"Oh, Hari did you remember to let Rinko-san know?" Hermione asked.

"Oh," Hari blinked. "I forgot."

Seiichi chuckled amused while Minoru and Kazumi smiled. Hari pulled out her phone and turned it back on (since it turned itself off when they were at Gringotts and electronics didn't work in magical places). Immediately her phone started to buzz and she blinked.

"Someone seems to have been trying to reach you," Seiichi observed dryly.

"Ah," Hari nodded. "Whoops."

"Hopefully It's not your dad," Seiichi said, "or I am sure he'll blame me for you not answering your phone."

Hari glanced at him and saw the smile on his face. He looked too amused but she couldn't help the laugh that escaped and stuck out her tongue at him making him laugh again.

"He won't…well, he probably would do that," Hari huffed.

Seiichi reached out and gently pushed some of her stray strands of hair out of her face while she found Rinko's information and pressed the call button trying not to blush as she felt Seiichi's fingers against her cheek. He pulled back when she lifted the phone to her ear.

Both were unaware of the curious yet contemplative look they got from Hermione.

When Hari had let Rinko know where she was and apologized for not calling earlier (not that she could have) she checked her messages and felt her eyebrows rise as she saw the unanswered calls she had received from Inui before he had texted her, she also saw texts from Kikumaru and even Kawamura and Oishi.

"What's going on," she muttered.

"Eh?" Hermione looked at her. "Hari?"

Hari didn't answer as she read through the texts.

...

 _Hari-chan! Hari-chan! Why aren't you picking up the phone, nya? Momo-chan is on a date! (Kikumaru)_

 _Hari-chan, we are observing Momoshiro and the captain of Fudomine's little sister on a date. Echizen is there too. Do you want to come and join us? There's a lot of interesting data! (Inui)_

 _Hari-chan, do you think they will be okay? Echizen and Momoshiro can't fight on a date! They will be emotionally scarred! What do you think? We should stop them, right? This can't go on. You should come and help! (Oishi)_

 _What's this about Echizen and Momoshiro going on a date?! (Kawamura)_

 _..._

"Seriously," Hari huffed as she skimmed the rest of the messages (they were more or less the same). "They really can't help themselves."

"What are you talking about?" Hermione asked impatiently.

Hari looked up and realised that the others were looking at her. She had completely forgotten them as she read the messages.

"What's so fascinating that you're forgetting to eat?" Seiichi asked.

"Well, An-chan had a date with Momo-chan today," Hari said.

"She really went through with it?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah," Hari nodded. "He seems to have dragged Ryo-chan with him, though."

"Your brother?" Minoru asked curiously. "But why would he bring him to a date?"

Hari shrugged looking slightly annoyed, "who knows. Seems like most of my team discovered them and decided to spy."

"Again?" Seiichi asked amused.

"Again?" Hermione asked confused.

"They tried the same with me before they knew who my boyfriend was," Hari rolled her eyes. "They followed me all the way from school and until I met Jiro-kun and his team at a tennis court."

She glanced nervously at Seiichi at the mention of Saeki but he didn't react to the name.

"Okay, so what happened today?" Minoru asked.

Hari shook her head, "confusion. Seems like they worried that Ryo-chan and Momo-chan were both interested in An-chan. Don't really know if they actually managed to get to actually spy on them or if they just were freaking out on their own…Who knows with my team, they're crazy."

Hari laughed lightly.

"Poor An-chan," Hermione said.

Hari nodded.

Kazumi was smiling as she looked at the teens talking and eating.

...

"Hey, An-chan," Hari said when An answered her phone. "How was your date?"

Hari had arrived home and was lingering outside in order to talk to An without interruptions. She was curious about how the date really went and if the spying team had ruined it for her.

"It was fine," An said with a sigh. "It didn't really go as planned, though."

"But did you and Momo-chan get to talk? Did you tell him that you liked him?" Hari asked.

"I…no," An said. "I was going to, but…"

"He brought Ryo-chan with him, I heard," Hari frowned.

"It wasn't that bad," An said. "We went to the street court where we use to play tennis. They have built more courts there so I thought it would be fun to show him, but Kamio-kun and Ibu-kun were there and Kamio-kun went a little overprotective and provoked Momoshiro-kun into a fight."

Hari blinked.

"Ah," she said. "That can't have been good."

"Then someone else showed up," An said, "I think your team have played them because Echizen introduced them as the one he beat, the one Fuji beat and the one Momoshiro beat. Though, I think one of them was Fuji-san's brother."

Hari snorted at that. "Typical Ryo-chan."

An continued to tell her about how they had ended up playing and Momoshiro had played double with Kamio on his team against Ryoma and Ibu. Hari sighed as she shook her head, this date hadn't really gone as planned.

"You're team showed up at the end, I think," An said, "but I had to leave then because Kippei-nii-chan called me."

"I'm sorry, An-chan," Hari said. "I guess my plan didn't work out that well."

"It's fine," An said. "I had fun, and I think Momoshiro-kun also had some fun and maybe next time I'll be able to confess to him…"

"You're still going to do it?" Hari asked with a smile.

"Yeah," An confirmed and Hari was sure she was blushing.

...

Hari was exhausted when she fell back onto the bed and closed her eyes. It had been a long day and she felt like her head was drowning in all the new information she had learned and decisions she had made. She had agreed to buy three runes from the goblins at Gringotts. It had been expensive, but worth it. She had no way to learn that much about Runes quickly enough to have use for it now. So it had been a good idea to go to someone who was good.

Her mind went back to Ron and his absence. It had hurt that he hadn't come with Hermione and his brother; it was like he said he really didn't want anything more to do with her now that he knew she was not coming back.

But it couldn't have been such a shock, could it? She had resigned from Hogwarts, after all. If that wasn't a big enough clue that she was done with that school she didn't know what was. But the hurt in his eyes and voice when he asked if she regretted meeting them replayed in her mind and she frowned. Had she made it look like that? She hadn't meant for it to look like that. She was grateful to Ron and Hermione. They were her best friends (apart from Ryoma of course).

She would need to think more about this and talk to Ron. If he wanted to talk to her again, that is…

She turned in her bed and closed her eyes as she tried to clear her mind and get to sleep. It was only a couple of days before they had another match, after all. She couldn't afford not to be fully focused on the practice tomorrow.

 **...**

 **...**

 **AN:** **What do you think? XD**

 **There will be more Ron in the next chapter! I just didn't want the chapter to get too long (and wanted to update it now). Also, I feel like he needs more time. Do you have any wishes for how he will proceed? I have my ideas, but I am always curious as to what you think. :) Also, I have decided to bring some of the Japanese culture into this. It will probably be a mix of Shinto and Buddhism. From what I have learned both of these have had a great influence over Japanese culture. I will admit that I don't know that much about either of these but I have been reading a little about it and finds it very interesting. If you know some good online resources about it then please let me know ;)**

 **One more thing before I finish the author note; The date between An and Momoshiro is in reference to episode 71 of the anime. Of course, in this fic, it is a little more real than it was in the anime where I have a feeling that it was more to bring Momoshiro and Kamio to play together that was An's goal. Though, I wouldn't be surprised if she really did like Momoshiro. ;) I just decided that I didn't want to focus on it too much and rather focus on Hari and her steps in preparing to learn to defend herself. If anything is unclear feel free to ask me and I'll do my best to answer! :)**

 **Well, hope you liked it! And as always thank you so much for your support and for reading my story! :)**


	44. A good Captain

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Prince of Tennis!**

 **...**

 **...**

 **"Parsletongue"**

 **...**

 **...**

Keigo frowned as he looked out over the large garden at the back of his house. He couldn't get the conversation with Hari out of his mind. He had met her for lunch and while it had started alright and he had enjoyed talking with her it had turned…bad when they had started to talk about the tournament.

Keigo's frowned deepened as he remembered the look Hari had given him. It hadn't been anger, it would have been better if she had been angry, but disappointment. She had been disappointed in him and Keigo found that he really didn't like that.

" _I never thought you would actually play in a way that hoped that your opponent would get injured."_

That was what Hari had said. The words hurt and the tone of her voice had him flinch just remembering it. He remembered the match (of course he did – it had only been a couple of days since it happened) and he remembered getting sucked into it and just wanting to win. Tezuka had always made him feel so competitive and lose his control in a way that no one else did. But he had never really wanted anyone to get injured when playing tennis before. Not like he had with Tezuka.

Why had he done that? Why had he wished to crush him so badly?

" _He won't play anymore in the tournament. At least I doubt it and if he does…I think he'll ruin any chance he has to play again later. I'm not a doctor, of course, but…I think his shoulder is really bad."_

Guilt welled up inside of him as he remembered Hari telling him that bluntly and a colder look in her eyes as she looked at him. That hurt too. She had grown to look at him with warm eyes and like she liked what she saw. Like she found him worthy or something and Keigo didn't want to lose that.

He thought hard and long about what had gone through him that day of the match. He needed to figure it out so he could make it right, and make Hari look at him like she wanted him to be her family again. That she found him worthy of being her god-brother.

He slept poorly that night and when the morning finally came he was up before the alarm rang or the maid came to wake him up. He skipped breakfast as he made his way to the school and found the coach in his office early as always.

"Atobe," Sakaki said looking up from his papers and his voice calm and stoic. Like normal.

"Here," he said and dropped a brochure on the desk in front of the coach.

Sakaki picked it up and looked at it before looking back at Keigo.

"What's this?"

"I want you to take that to Seigaku's coach," Keigo said working on keeping his voice calm and unaffected.

"Why?" Sakaki arched a brow.

"Because they will need it in order to help Tezuka," Keigo said bluntly. "Tell her that there's a program that helps cover the costs for the treatments."

Sakaki looked at Keigo and if Keigo had been any less than he was he would have shifted under the stare and snapped what he wanted, but he kept quiet and still as he looked back at his coach. (p

"And is there such a program?" Sakaki asked and Keigo knew that his coach already knew the answer as the sharp look in his eyes never left him.

"Just tell them," Keigo said turning to leave.

"Atobe," Sakaki stopped him. "Why are you doing this? Is it because you feel guilty?"

Keigo hesitated for a moment.

"It's part of it," Keigo admitted turning around again. "I never played like that before."

"You played a good match," Sakaki said leaning back but his sharp eyes were still observing Keigo who normally wouldn't allow anyone to look at him like that. But this was his coach and one of few people who had Keigo's respect. "Though, I already told you about what I think about purposely trying to injure your opponent. That is not how Hyotei plays tennis."

Keigo hid a flinch at the reminder and he remembered him telling that after the match when they were alone.

"You might win the game but you would have lost something more important," Sakaki continued. "Your integrity."

"I know," Keigo said fisting his hands.

"Have you thought more about why you did it?" Sakaki asked.

"Because she chose him and his team over me," Keigo admitted. "I wanted to prove to her that she should have come here and that I was better than him."

Sakaki looked at him for a moment and Keigo felt a stab again as the look in his eyes resembled Hari's disappointed look, though Hari's hurt more.

"I didn't even realise that I still thought that," Keigo said. "But I did, and now I'm trying to make up for it. If I were to give that to Tezuka he won't accept it. That's why I need you to do it, coach. It's the only way I'll be able to keep looking Hari-chan in the eye and still be someone worth her smiles."

Sakaki stared at him and Keigo felt uncomfortable because he never admitted to something like this, but the words were out of his mouth before he could stop them. He huffed and turned away again in an abrupt movement before walking to the door.

"I'll do it, Atobe," he heard Sakaki say just as he left the office.

...

Hari was sitting on a bench looking at two children playing tennis and she couldn't help but smile a little as she watched them. It filled her with such a nostalgic feeling just looking at them that she even forgot part of the reason why she had left the practice before she could be dragged off with Ryoma or Momoshiro for a burger or something like that.

But watching the two playing tennis with such happiness and clearly just starting out on their journey in the sport had her remembering the first time she met Ryoma. The way he had smiled at her and asked her to play tennis with him. She hadn't even known the rules and had only seen tennis briefly on the television but it was always just brief glances before Dudley had switched channels to find some child program to watch instead.

" _Do you want to play with me?" Ryoma asked._

" _Play?" Hari blinked not able to believe that he actually asked her._

" _Yeah. Tennis," Ryoma nodded. "It's fun!"_

 _Hari stared at him. "You want to play with me?"_

 _He looked at her strangely before he laughed and nodded, "of course! Come on!"_

 _Hari agreed and borrowed a racket from him when he learned she hadn't one and patiently showed her how to hold the racket._

" _I'm sorry;" she said embarrassed and sure he would tell her she was ruining everything._

" _What for?" Ryoma looked at her. "Everyone has just started to play at one point. No one can do it without having to learn first. That's what dad says at least."_

 _Hari stared at him and noticed the smile again and no one had looked at her like that before. She smiled shyly and went back to learning how to swing the racket._

Hari was shaken out of the memory as the boys exclaimed; one of triumph and another of disappointment. She smiled again. How much fun she'd had when she first started to play. She hadn't even expected to be able to continue but Ryoma asked her to meet him again the next day and the next and before she knew it she had her first friend and had started her own journey in learning the game.

Just watching them reminded her of how much it had meant to her back when she was still living with the Dursley's and before Hogwarts. How it had given her hope and most importantly, how it had lead Ryoma into her life. She was so grateful. Without him and later his parents in her life she wasn't sure how she would have turned out by the time Hogwarts came. She didn't really doubt that she would have lost faith in people and became bitter and angry. It was Ryoma who showed her that there existed different kinds of people than her so-called family.

So, that's why she had trouble reaching out to Ron and make it better because she wasn't sure how to make him see that without making it sound like she wished she never had gone to Hogwarts and had been adopted by Nanjiro and Rinko right away. He saw her being here and playing tennis as losing her, as her choosing this life over him and the old life.

He wasn't exactly wrong, but he wasn't completely right either. She didn't regret meeting Ron and Hermione. They were her best friends and had been there for her during some of her darkest moments at Hogwarts and that meant a lot to Hari. But she was aware that they did see her as the Girl-Who-Lived. Even Hermione did that, but she was getting better now. They didn't seem to think that her facing Voldemort two times in two years was something she _shouldn't_ be doing.

Well, they did think it was early and that it was terrible and all that. They worried, but…but it wasn't like they thought it was unexpected. If that was the right word to use. It was like if there was anyone in the school who should be facing Voldemort it should be her. And that's what she hated. Why should she? She had only been 11 and 12 years old when she faced him (not counting when she was a year old). She shouldn't have been in a position where she felt she had to be the one to save the day.

But life with Ryoma was…free. She could be herself and while she hadn't told them everything about her old life or the fame she had in the magical world she had seen the way they reacted to some of what she had told them and they had _acted_ on it. Rinko had gone all the way to England in order to make sure she never had to go back to her aunt and uncle. She had made sure that Hari was safe and that she could be with them for as long as she wished.

It was something no one else had done. While she always would be grateful for how Mrs and Mr Weasley had opened their home for her and let her stay the summer between her first and second year at Hogwarts and how Mrs Weasley always sent her something for Christmas, they had not acted on the…the clear unhappiness and neglect they had seen from the Dursley's.

A movement to her right had her look and saw Tezuka standing here looking at the children as well. He looked like he had been on his way home. She could see that he too was sucked into memories as he looked at the two children playing. She wondered what he was remembering before she wondered what was up with him. He had shown up at their practice earlier and he hadn't done that since he was injured. She frowned slightly as she remembered the match and how Keigo had…No, she was not going to think about that now.

"You look like you're lost in thoughts, Captain," Hari called out and saw him startled slightly before looking over at her. He hesitated for a moment before he walked over to her and looked at her with those sharp eyes of his.

"So do you," he said. "Remembering something?"

She hid her surprise at the question. He wasn't really one to ask something that was remotely personal. But she smiled as she looked back to the still playing children.

"How I first met Ryo-chan," Hari said deciding to be honest.

"You met him on a tennis court?" Tezuka asked.

"Yes," Hari chuckled. "He was playing and I just happened to pass by and he asked me if I wanted to play. I never played before so it ended up with him teaching me about tennis and how to hold the racket."

Tezuka smiled slightly as he turned his head and looked at the children.

"They remind me of me," He finally said. "I remember playing like this once."

Hari smiled as she imagined it. "I don't think I can imagine you as a carefree child."

His lips twitched slightly as he sat down beside her and she again hid her surprise.

"Oh?" He looked at her. "And how would you imagine me?"

Hari smiled and tilted her head as she looked at him, "hm. Well, rather stoic and serious, I guess. Though, when I think about it… you do seem to change slightly on the court when you play. You are more open then, so maybe I can imagine you like them."

He arched a brow but didn't comment on it. She knew she hadn't offended him because he did smile slightly.

"You're going away, aren't you?" Hari finally broke the silence between them and saw him look at her again.

"How did you know?" he asked.

Hari sighed sadly. She had a feeling that it was something like that ever since he had shown up at the practice. He had stopped to give advice to the junior members and had been looking at them all with such a sad yet proud and searching look in his eyes. He had talked more than he normally did as well, and not to mention the way Ryuzaki had looked at Tezuka had been another clue.

"Just a feeling I had," Hari said. "And how you acted and Ryuzaki-sensei."

"You're very observant," Tezuka commented after a pause. "Hari-chan."

Hari smiled slightly and nodded, "I guess I am. So, where and when are you going?"

"A clinic in Germany," Tezuka said. "It's the best hope I have to treat my shoulder. And soon..."

Hari nodded, "that's good, then. But I'll miss you."

Tezuka looked at her and she saw the surprise in his eyes before he hid it. She guessed he would be because they weren't exactly that close. They hadn't really spent that much time together and certainly not alone and outside of something tennis related.

"You're my friend even if we haven't spent much time together," Hari said before he could say anything. "You always have helped me out with my tennis."

He looked a little stunned again but then his face fell back into the familiar stoic mask.

"It was my pleasure to help," he said and she rolled her eyes lightly the formality in his voice.

...

When Hari came home it was getting late and she found Nanako running after Karupin who seemed to be trying to escape a bath and the mewing was growing more frantic.

"Ryoma-kun! Catch Karupin!" Nanako called.

Hari who was just about to open the door more so she could step inside saw Ryoma try to catch the cat but he missed and Karupin came right at her. With the help of her reflexes, she managed to catch the cat before he escaped outside.

"Ah! Thank you!" Nanako exclaimed relieved. "No more running, Karupin! You have to take a bath!"

Karupin gave a sad mew and tried to escape again and Hari almost felt bad when Karupin gave her a betrayed look.

"Sorry, Karupin," Hari waved.

Ryoma snorted as Nanako (and Karupin) disappeared deeper into the house. Hari shrugged and stepped further in noticing that Ryoma seemed to be on his way out.

"Going somewhere?" Hari asked.

Ryoma blinked at her, "so are you."

"I am?" Hari asked confused. "Where?"

"Oishi-senpai asked us to meet him tonight," Ryoma said.

"He never asked me," Hari denied.

"He couldn't find you after practice," Ryoma looked at her. "Where did you go? Well, anyway, he asked me to tell you and bring you along."

Hari shrugged, "I see. I was just thinking."

"Thinking?" Ryoma asked. "About?"

Hari turned to leave again since they were apparently going out and sighed as she looked up at the darkening sky. Her mind went back to Ron and what to do before she shook her head and tried to push the thoughts away.

"Ron and…the past, I guess," Hari admitted. "I don't really know."

Ryoma glanced at her, "hm."

Hari loved the fact that Ryoma didn't push for her to tell him more. He just continued to walk beside her and offered silent comfort. It was soothing.

...

"What does Oishi-senpai want to talk about?" Ryoma asked when they were all gathered in a park waiting for Oishi to come.

"Who knows? Whatever it is…" Kikumaru said as he leaned back with his arms behind his head.

"What's this?" Inui asked turning toward Kikumaru. "Eiji doesn't know either?"

Hari looked curiously over at Kikumaru from where she was sitting beside Ryoma.

"Seems like no one knows," Hari commented. "Wonder what he wants."

"So everyone gathered without knowing anything…" Ryoma sighed.

Hari heard him first and looked to see Oishi coming running and soon she heard him calling out as he did. When he got closer she realised that he was yelling an apology. Typical.

"Oooooy! Sorry, sorry! I'm sorry for being late!" Oishi called as he stopped in front of them.

Hari heard Ryoma snort but didn't do anything but lightly elbow him in the side making him jump slightly and glare at her.

"Geez," Kikumaru complained. "You're late! And you called us all out, too."

"So, what do you want to talk about?" Fuji asked stepping forward.

Oishi smiled, "we are all going to go mountain climbing."

"Eh?"

Hari arched a brow as she looked at Oishi. Mountain climbing? Now? What did he plan now? There had to be a reason for why he wanted them to go climb a mountain in the middle of the night.

"We're going to watch the sunrise together," Oishi declared. "Everyone together! I'm sure it will be great."

Hari smiled slightly as she looked at Oishi who looked really into the idea and excited while none of the others seemed to really catch on and more or less started to question it and didn't seem to be that interested in going. Hari saw how Oishi looked more and more disappointed as the idea was seemingly dismissed.

Hari frowned slightly as she looked at the others and also her brother who looked disinterested and bored. She looked back at Oishi and knew he was trying his best to be a good Captain for them until Tezuka came back even if it wasn't official yet. She wondered if the others realised just how much pressure he was putting on himself.

"I think it's a good idea," Hari said interrupting the others as she stepped forward and smiled at Oishi. "I'll join you."

"Hari-chan?" Momoshiro blinked. "You want to?"

"Me too," Fuji said smiling. "I have never seen the sunrise from the mountaintop anyway. It will be interesting."

"Ah…me neither," Kawamura agreed.

Oishi had started to look more hopeful now and started to smile again.

"Ryo-chan," Hari looked at her little brother. "Let's go, ne?"

"Fine," he sighed but smiled slightly.

"I'll go to," Momoshiro said and soon the others were agreeing and Kikumaru jumped on Kawamura's back as he exclaimed loudly to "let's go!"

 **"** **The snow quantifies the soup,"** Kaido hissed from behind her and Hari shot him an amused look while he tried to look unaffected.

...

They had to take the train until they came to the mountain and spent the time playing cards and Fuji even managed to drag Tezuka into playing and Hari had fun as she laughed with her friends. She sat beside Fuji who looked to be the perfect poker player and no one seemed to be able to read his masks. Well…besides her and Tezuka.

No surprise – Tezuka won.

"Hehe, I just can't beat Tezuka," Fuji laughed.

Hari laughed and pushed his arm gently making him smile at her. Hari even caught Tezuka smiling slightly as he watched them. She wondered if he was thinking about his eventual trip to Germany.

She walked beside Fuji up the mountain talking quietly with him as they walked and listened to the others laugh and or complaining about how far it was. She was glad Oishi had brought drinks for them all because no one else was prepared for a trip up the mountain in the middle of the night.

"Oooh, it's almost scary, isn't it?" Momoshiro commented behind her.

"Scary?" Hari glanced over her shoulder and looked at Momoshiro.

"It's the middle of the night and the woods here are so dark," Momoshiro shuddered as he glanced at the woods.

Hari blinked and looked at the trees and while dark they seemed peaceful for her. Nothing like the lingering shadows and darkness that was found in the Forbidden Forrest at night.

"Hm, I don't think it's so bad," Hari said. "It's rather peaceful to walk here at night."

"Peaceful?" Kikumaru echoed.

"Mm," Hari nodded. "And look up at the stars… I love watching the stars at night."

She really did and she found peace doing so. No one else said anything for a while but she noticed several of them looking up at the sky as well.

"Everyone! We're almost at the peak!" Oishi finally called out.

They got to the peak and Hari gasped slightly as she took in the view. While dark she could see the distant lights from the city and the moon lit up enough and gave it all a mythical light. She heard Kikumaru worry about the clouds coming in and them not being able to see the sunrise.

Oishi reassured him and looked at the clock. "Another five minutes and it will be dawn."

...

Hari inhaled as the sun started to rise and lit up the city and the mountain gradually and took in all the pretty colours. She smiled as she watched and wondered how everything seemed different in this light. It was like everything got a new start or something (although that sounded cheesy).

She saw the smile on the others faces as well and both Kikumaru and Fuji had clasped Oishi on the shoulders as they watched the sunrise.

The joy and happiness spread as they all took it in and a feeling of proud accomplishment filled them all and Hari couldn't help but laugh with the others as Kikumaru jumped around and even dragged Oishi with him. She smiled as Fuji ruffled her hair and laughed as she swatted his hand away.

She caught Tezuka watching them all with a thoughtful expression and walked over to him.

"You alright?" She asked.

"I'm fine, Hari-chan," he said.

"Oishi did a good job," Hari commented as she watched Ryoma and Momoshiro play around.

"He did," Tezuka agreed.

"He'll do a good job until you're back," Hari glanced at Tezuka and saw him nod.

"He will," Tezuka said just as Hari moved away and she wondered if she really heard him or not.

"Smile!" Fuji said and Hari blinked as the flash went off and she frowned. "That will be an interesting photo."

"You could have warned me a little earlier," Hari grumbled. "You like taking pictures?"

"Yes," Fuji shrugged and took another one of her. "It's fun."

Hari nodded and watched as he walked around taking pictures of the others and finally managed to get them all to gather for a group photo. As Hari stood there surrounded by her friends she wondered if she could ask Fuji to give her a copy of the picture later.

Hari was tired when she had Ryoma finally made it home and it was when they stepped into the house and found both Rinko and Nanjiro ready to jump at them that they realised that they had forgotten to tell them that they would be out all night…

Whoops.

...

"Did you get in trouble?" Momoshiro asked when the practice was over.

"Yeah," Ryoma mumbled. "We forgot to tell Okaa-chan and Oyaji where we went…"

"They were mad," Hari grimaced. She hated to have made them worry and she knew they were in the wrong. They should have thought to tell them about where they were going… and asked for permission.

"Okaa-chan was mad as well," Momoshiro sighed before he smiled slightly. "But it was kind of worth it, you know."

Hari nodded, "yeah."

"Hn," Ryoma shrugged but Hari knew he agreed.

"Regulars!" Oishi called and they looked to him. "Tezuka has asked for you."

Hari was not as surprised as the others and had a feeling she knew what was coming. She followed the others but didn't join in as they were guessing what Tezuka might want. She glanced around at the rest of the regulars and wondered how they would take the news.

Tezuka was waiting for them (no surprised there) and they gathered around him in a half-circle waiting for him to speak and when he did a silence fell over them that no one seemed to be able or willing to break. It was like if someone broke the silence then it must be true.

Finally, Oishi spoke.

"What did you just say?"

"I won't be able to play in the upcoming matches," Tezuka repeated (though, that wasn't a surprise to anyone). "In order to get my left shoulder healed, I have to go to Germany."

Hari saw the shock in the others and Ryoma's expression stood out the most to her. His racket lowered and the ball he had been balancing on it rolled off it and to the ground but he didn't seem to notice. It was clear that no one was prepared for what Tezuka just said and Hari felt slightly guilty for not saying anything to prepare them. But it hadn't been her secret or decision to share.

...

"You alright?" Hari asked later that night standing in the doorway looking in on Ryoma who was lying on his back on his bed.

"Fine," he said.

"You know it's alright to be upset," Hari said. "Tezuka has helped you a lot."

"I'm fine," he repeated. "Really, Hari. I'm fine."

Hari sighed but didn't push so she nodded and smiled, "well, let me know if you need anything or want to talk."

He nodded.

She walked back into her room and picked up her phone. She felt exhausted. Everyone had been quiet and upset after Tezuka had told them that he was going away for a while. She had tried to offer comfort but it hadn't been easy. It proved to her just how large a part Tezuka was in their team.

She dialled the familiar number and waited for the only one she wanted to talk to now to pick up.

"Hari-chan," Seiichi's voice sounded and she smiled feeling some of the tension in her shoulders relax.

"Hey, Sei-chan," Hari said. "How are you?"

"I'm fine," he said and Hari almost groaned. If she heard one more answer like that today…"You?"

"Tired," Hari said leaning back on her bed and looked toward Ryoma's room with a worried frown. "And worried."

"Did something happen?" Seiichi asked quickly.

"Well, Tezuka is leaving," Hari admitted having asked Tezuka if he was okay with her telling Seiichi. She knew it would be well known soon, but she hadn't wanted to say something that she shouldn't. Tezuka had said it was fine so she told her boyfriend without feeling guilty for sharing it.

"He is?" Seiichi asked surprised. "Why?"

"His shoulder," Hari said. "He's going to Germany in order to get it healed. So he'll be gone for a little while."

"I see," Seiichi said. "I'm sorry. But at least he can do something to make his shoulder better."

Hari nodded, "yeah. I already knew that he was going, but it came as a shock for the rest of the team. Ryo-chan is upset but refused to admit it."

Seiichi hummed and she felt better just talking with him and a smile crossed her lips despite the worry she felt.

"Give him time to think," Seiichi advised. "I'm sure he'll be alright when he just gets time to think about it. The rest of your team as well."

...

Hari was aware that most of her friends were distracted the next day at school. Everyone was thinking (and talking) about Tezuka and how he was leaving. She was aware that the first years (besides Ryoma) was slightly panicked and seemed to think that the whole club would fall apart without Tezuka there. It would have been ridiculous if not for the fact that Hari found it rather cute. It proved that Tezuka was a good Captain.

Fuji was worried and a little distracted, and he admitted to Hari that he would miss Tezuka. He was one of his best friends and rivals so it would be strange to not see him every day. Hari nodded and bumped his shoulder with her own making him smile. He also pointed out that their matches from now on would become more unpredictable since normally everyone knew that Tezuka would play last and would save their own Ace for that spot. Now it would be different and they couldn't as easily predict where everyone on the other teams would play. It was something Inui also talked about. A lot.

"It's no use worrying about it," Hari said making them look at her as they gathered for their practice.

"What?" Kikumaru frowned at her. "How can you say that?"

Hari sighed, "it is for the best that Tezuka leaves to get his injury treated. Even if he was still here he wouldn't have been able to play and therefore the same problems that Shu-chan and Inui-senpai have pointed out would still be, well, our problems. We're a strong team. Tezuka-Captain has made sure of that, so we have to trust in his faith in us and do our best so that we don't disappoint him. We need to be good friends for him and support him as he gets his shoulder fixed so he can continue playing tennis as he loves."

"Hari-chan is right," Oishi finally said breaking the silence that followed. "We'll do our best so that when Tezuka comes back we're ready for the Nationals."

"Yes!" The others cheered.

Hari smiled slightly and laughed as Fuji ruffled her hair.

"Thanks," he said. "I needed to hear that."

Tezuka came to practice and surprised everyone when he requested a match against Ryoma...

...

Ron was frowning as he stared down at the letter he had just written. He swallowed as he looked at it not sure about what he was feeling. He couldn't remember feeling as conflicted about anything before. He knew what he wanted, but at the same time knew that he shouldn't want it. That he was… _wrong_. No. He wasn't wrong.

He thought back to how the last few months had been at school and how he and Hermione had been stared at and whispered about. The looks they got. Even Dean and Seamus… Only Neville seemed to smile at him without the underlying blame and curiosity.

If Hari came back then they would see that she had not been wrong and that she belonged there and that no one from the Ministry could tell her what to do. She would prove them wrong! Like she should! She couldn't just let them win like this!

So, he should send that letter. He should…

No.

 _You just confirmed Hari's fears!_

Hermione's words rang in his ears and he could feel them turning red. He didn't just see Hari as the Girl-Who-Lived! Really! He didn't. But…

 _Don't you?_

The small voice in his mind whispered treacherously and mocking. He shook his head to get the voice to shut up. He didn't. Hari was Hari and his best friend. The one he had first gotten to know at the train and had accepted him without seeing his brothers or Ginny. She never looked at him like she was expecting to see Bill or Charlie or any of the others… She never looked at him like she rather get to know Ginny, the first girl in their family in seven generations.

Was it so hard to believe that he just wanted her, wanted Hari, to come back to Hogwarts? Dumbledore might be a lot of things but he was the strongest wizard alive and if Voldemort really was getting back, then wouldn't Hari be safer close to Dumbledore? If Voldemort found Hari here…then who would protect her? Her muggle friends?

No one could protect her and he would lose his best friend. He looked at the letter again already in the envelope but no address on it yet. No name. Should he finish it and send it?

A part of him said yes, but…

Why couldn't he just send it? He should. It would be best for Hari's safety. But then he remembered his time spent with Hermione worrying about Hari and how they had been constantly sent for by Dumbledore and how they had been stopped from contacting her. Why would he keep them from her? Why should he want that?

Could they really trust Dumbledore?

His parents would say yes. They could trust Dumbledore with anything and that he would always do what was best for Hari. That he cared for her and that he was the one to save her. But Ron knew that it wasn't as black and white as that. He wondered if his mum really knew how Hari was treated with the Dursley's. How she was neglected and abused, he knew that now. Would they still say the same about Dumbledore if they knew that?

He was so confused. He jumped as the door opened and Hermione came in talking with Fred and George who laughed at something. They looked so carefree and not at all like they were upset that Hari chose them away and replaced them with someone else. Someone she had never even talked about before. How important could Echizen Ryoma be when she never even mentioned him?

"Hey, Ron," George grinned spotting him. "You missed out on a lot of fun!"

"Oh," Ron said. "Did you see Hari?"

"No, she's busy with tennis practice," Fred sighed. "But we'll see her later. She asked us to come and meet her at her home and have dinner with them."

"I see," Ron said coldly. "Have fun, then."

He could feel Fred and George looking at him but he didn't look back at them.

"You're not coming?" Hermione asked interrupting whatever the twins had been about to say.

"Why should I?" Ron asked.

"Why…You…" Hermione stared and Ron almost folded but looked away from her and noticed his brothers looking shocked. "You idiot! Fine! Be that way but don't expect Hari to come running after you when you're acting like a little child throwing a tantrum because he doesn't get what he wants!"

Ron blinked as she stomped out of the room and slammed the door to her bedroom after her. He frowned and felt a flash of guilt well up inside and uncertainty filled him. Maybe…

"What's going on?" Fred asked uncommonly serious.

"Yeah, what's happened?" George looked at him and Ron felt like shifting in his spot.

"Nothing," he muttered.

"You're a terrible liar, Ron," Fred frowned. "Did you and Hari have a fight?"

"Not that she cares," Ron snapped. "She would rather we leave so she could have her new precious little friends."

Both of the twins arched a brow and there was no trace of laughter on their face.

"I don't know what you're on about," George said, "but I suggest you work yourself out before you lose both your friends."

"What happened to you, Ron? You were so worried and happy to finally find Hari again," Fred was still frowning. "I would have thought you would want to spend time with Hari whenever you could. She missed you and Hermione, you know. So why are you pushing her away?"

Ron fisted his hand and he could feel his ears burning red. "She didn't miss me! She doesn't need me at all! But I won't lose her because she…because she's so stubborn! Why am I the only one who sees that she's not safe here?!"

No one said anything for a while and Ron silently cursed himself for almost slipping out and said what he had done (or was maybe about to do). He had still not decided yet.

"And Hari was safe at Hogwarts?" George challenged. "You weren't safe at Hogwarts, not Hermione either."

"Do you not think we saw the danger you, Hari and Hermione was in?" Fred asked quietly. "We might not have seen it all, nor have been able to do anything, but we saw enough. Like how Hari was unconscious for three days in your first year, how you were injured and brought to the hospital wing the same night, how Hermione was petrified (not that she was the only one). Ginny was taken and you and Hari risked your lives to save her…"

"What do you think we are?" George asked. "Blind? So, I don't blame Hari for wanting to be somewhere safe and where the adults have proven that they care for her."

"Mum and dad…"

"They care but they overlooked it when we told them about the bars on her window, Ron," Fred pointed out. "They shouldn't have done that. Why would we lie about that? Eh? Would we lie about how someone purposely locked someone, their _niece_ , in? Even if it was to get out of trouble?"

Ron frowned.

"Think about it," George said.

Ron was at a loss. Never had Fred and George been so serious, gone so long without finishing each other sentences. He couldn't remember seeing it before at all.

"Or we…" Fred said some cheer in his voice again even if there was steel to it as well.

"…will be…" George added with the same type of voice.

"…forced to take action," they finished together and clasped Ron on the shoulder but the promise of pranks was lacing their every word.

...

Later Ron found himself outside the Echizen house and staring in through the window (like a creep) and saw Hari laughing with Fred and George and the man that Hari now called dad was pouting with green hair. Hari was leaning on Fred as she laughed and the happiness in her eyes had Ron's inside twist uncomfortably and painfully.

He wished he was in there with them. He missed her. He just wanted his best friend back. The one who would avoid doing homework much to Hermione's frustration before they sat the last night cramming to get it done. The one who laughed with him and pranked with him, even getting into a prank war with George and Fred.

Watching as the man Hari called Otou-chan get up and pout at Hari before she waved a hand and turned his hair pink instead of green. Even from the outside, Ron could hear the laughter. He saw the fond look from the older man even if he tried to look angry and it wasn't lost on Ron how much he cared for Hari. To see Hari be so…so free and happy had Ron wondering if Fred and George maybe were right. Maybe their parents really had failed Hari… Hari did deserve to be happy and to have this in her life…

Suddenly Hari looked away from the twins and out of the window and their eyes locked. Ron swallowed as he wondered what to do or if Hari would do anything. He was not sure how long they stood there before she looked away and continued to talk with Fred and then Ryoga came and joined them playfully high-fiving Hari and casting an amused look at his father.

Ron felt his heart sink. She hadn't come out and had gone back to pretending that he wasn't even there. The disappointment filled him and he felt the sudden loss. It was like she was saying that she didn't care anymore…

"Ron?"

His head snapped up and he looked to the side to see Hari standing there looking at him with a blank mask.

"…" He opened his mouth but nothing came out.

"What are you doing here?" Hari asked her brows furrowed slightly as she looked at him.

"I…Well…" He fumbled for words. Why didn't he find the right words? But, why was he there?

"You should come in if you are here, you know," Hari said.

He blinked, "you would want me to?"

She looked at him for a moment and he saw the hesitation in her eyes.

"You're my friend," Hari said. Like that answered that.

"But…you…"

"Look," she interrupted impatiently. "I told you that it wasn't about choosing anyone over you and Hermione. You and Hermione are my best friends, and I never would have gotten through my years at Hogwarts without you. I just… I can't be me there, Ron. Don't you see that? Or do you really just see the Girl-Who-Lived? Is that really the reason why you sat in my compartment that first day on the Hogwarts Express?"

Hurt shone in her eyes and he immediately shook his head. How could she believe that? Well, if he was honest the reason he had sat in that compartment was because he had heard Fred and George talk about meeting Hari Potter. He had been curious, but he had soon forgotten that the shy girl he had met was Hari Potter. She had been kind and curious and he had liked her. They became friends and Ron hadn't really thought over the fact that she was the Girl-Who-Lived for the rest of the journey to Hogwarts as they shared their nervousness and excitement about starting Hogwarts.

"No!" Ron denied. "I will admit that I sought you out on the train that day because Fred and George said they had met you and I was curious. But, I honestly liked you for you and when we became friends it was because I liked how you talked to me and didn't treat me like I was my brothers."

Hari looked at him for a moment and nodded.

"Good," she said, "but…"

"I shouldn't have said what I said that day," Ron said looking down and shifted on his feet before he looked up again and saw her watching him. "I didn't mean that you were only the Girl-Who-Lived, Hari. I just meant…Oh, I don't know how to say it without it sounding wrong, but… I just meant that even if you are here doesn't mean that You-Know-Who or anyone else would stop looking for you because to them you are still the Girl-Who-Lived."

He was not making sense of the explanation and he frowned at himself.

"I see," she said. "Well, even if I am that to them I don't want to be that to you."

"You're not," Ron said taking a step forward. "I'm so sorry, Hari. I…"

He thought about the letter that was unsent and in his bag back at the apartment. He thought about wanting her safe, but then the scene he had just witnessed crossed his mind and the smiling face Hari had shown and how happy she looked. He would be taking that away from her if he sent that letter and he realised that if he did then he would lose her. This time forever. Because even if she did come back she would forever blame him for being the one to bring her back.

"I only want you safe," he found himself saying. "I don't know how to keep you safe if you're here and I'm at Hogwarts. How can I protect you from there? I can't, and I am afraid of losing you…"

"Ron…" She tried to interrupt him but he shook his head and looked at her pleadingly.

"And I will admit that I am a little jealous," Ron said ashamed. "You look so happy here, Hari. Not that it isn't a good thing, because it is! But…I just saw you being happy because of your new family and new friends and…and I couldn't help but feel like we…that I…didn't matter to you anymore. It was like you had replaced us."

He felt remarkably lighter having admitted that but at the same time ashamed because what kind of friend was he? Was he really that petty that he couldn't accept her having other friends? Hermione was right… he was like a child throwing a tantrum.

"Silly boy," Hari said and suddenly she was hugging him. "You are my best friend, Ron. Why didn't you just talk to me? I would have listened…"

"I didn't want to ruin it," Ron muttered into her shoulder.

She huffed and tightened the hug.

"Silly boy," she said again and he laughed.

...

He came inside and tried not to notice the pleased look on Hermione's face as she looked at them.

"Hey, Ron-kun," Ryoma said nodding at him.

"Ryoma-kun," Ron said. "How was your day?"

"Good," Ryoma said taking a sip of the Ponta. "Though…I lost a match."

He grumbled the last part and Hari grabbed his cap from him laughing as he tried to snatch it back from her.

"You lost against Tezuka," she said. "No need to be so gloomy."

"I'm not _gloomy_!" Ryoma snapped jumping to get the cap but Hari danced out of the way. "Give it back, Hari!"

"Take it if you can," Hari laughed and ran out of his reach and much to Ron's surprised hid behind him and Ryoma stopped in front of him before trying to reach Hari who moved to one side as Ryoma tried to get past to his right. "Besides, Tezuka was testing you and wanted you to learn something…"

"He always wants me to learn something," Ryoma said before darting to the other side and Ron felt Hari grab his shoulders as she leaned away and tried to shift Ron so he was between them.

"Oi!" Ron protested.

He was ignored.

"Hari!" Ryoma whined.

"Ryo-chan," Hari teased back.

Ron heard the twins laughing and was sure he heard Hermione giggling as well.

"Children!" Rinko suddenly snapped and both Hari and Ryoma paused. "What are you doing with poor Ron-kun?!"

Hari and Ryoma glanced at each other before looking back at Rinko.

"Sorry, Okaa-chan," they said before Hari glanced at Ron who looked amused.

"Sorry, Ron," she rubbed the back of her head. "Got a little carried away."

"It's fine," he laughed.

"This is not how you want to prove that you're sorry for last night!" Rinko scolded them. "I only let you have visitors over because they are here for a limited time, Hari-chan. You're still grounded, remember?"

Hari sighed and nodded, "yes, Okaa-chan."

Rinko gave both her and Ryoma a look before going back to the kitchen leaving them alone again in the room. Hari tossed the cap over to Ryoma again who immediately put it back on.

"Grounded?" Ron asked breaking the silence.

Hari sighed as she fell back on the sofa and glanced at him. "Well…We might have forgotten to ask or tell them that we were going to go mountain climbing in the middle of the night in order to see the sunrise with the rest of our team…"

"Might have?" Hermione snorted.

"Okay, we forgot!" Hari grumbled. "It wasn't like we expected it, though! Oishi-senpai asked to meet and we had no idea what he had planned!"

Ryoma nodded in agreement.

"You didn't tell anyone?" Hermione asked.

"It kind of got lost in the excitement," Hari pouted. "They were so angry when we got home…"

"I think we're grounded for forever," Ryoma nodded but shared a look with Hari that clearly said that they didn't really regret it and that they were in it together. Ron felt the old flaring of jealousy again but pushed it back and laughed with the others.

"Good thing they didn't take your phone away, eh, Hari-chan?" Ryoga asked reminding Ron that he had been there too.

"Oh?" Fred grinned now.

"Why is that?" George asked.

"Because then she couldn't call her boyfriend every night," Ryoga teased making the twins laugh.

"Oh, shut up, Ryoga- _sensei_ ," Hari snapped making the older boy scowl at her.

Ron couldn't help laughing with the others and think that maybe he wouldn't lose Hari at all. Maybe he could still remain a part of her life. He didn't think about the letter again as he enjoyed the evening with Hari and the others. For the first time simply relaxing and having fun.

 **...**

 **...**

 **AN:** **What do you think? XD**

 **This chapter turned out much longer than I planned. ;) I feel like a lot happened as well, so I don't really know what of if I should address something here, but I guess I would like to address the part with Ron. I do not plan to have bashing in this story. I try to keep it as realistic as I can and try to think about how the characters would respond and act. While Ron is jealous and often lets it take control over him he still does genuinely care for Hari. He does want to protect her and wants her happy, even if he is jealous of the new people in her life. So that's why I had him change his mind about the letter at the last minute. I got the idea from some of the reviews I got, so thank you for the idea. :) If his letter will become a problem later...well, we'll have to wait and see... And I know some wishes for Hari not to forgive him. I think that Hari would forgive him when he offers an apology. Harry in canon is forgiving when the apology is genuine as shown several times over the series, e.g: in Chamber of Secrets when he forgives the Hufflepuffs for believing that he was the Heir. And later in Goblet of Fire forgives Ron for turning away from him. (Though, there he didn't even let Ron apologize before he forgave him). But that's just my thoughts about it and why I decided that Hari would forgive him now. But I wanted to have him apologize and that it was him that came to her and not Hari that found him. He was the one who had to take the steps in order to be forgiven.**

 **End of a (way too) long explanation. XD**

 **Thank you all for reading and supporting the story! Hope you enjoyed the chapter! :)**

 **Japanese words used:**  
 **Okaa-chan - mum**  
 **Otou-chan - dad**  
 **Senpai - upperclassman**  
 **Sensei - teacher, coach**


	45. Seigaku vs Josei - Meet the Yukimura's

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Prince of Tennis!**

 **...**

 **...**

 **...**

Seiichi arched a brow as he read the article that Sanada had just showed him looking a little nervous (not that many could tell by the stoic look on his face). The article was not anything out of the ordinary or anything, just an interview with a tennis player in one of the upcoming matches in the tournament. Josei Shonan was the team and Seiichi hadn't really heard about them before. They had never really reached that far in tournaments but it was clear that they were trying to do it this year.

"Huh," Seiichi said putting the magazine away and looked out of the window and to the garden.

"That's it?" Sanada asked.

Seiichi looked over at his best friend and smiled slightly.

"Do you expect something else?" Seiichi asked.

"Well…" Sanada said slowly.

"Maybe anger?" Seiichi guessed.

"He does disrespect Hari-chan," Sanada said almost nervously.

"And if we were playing Josei Shonan next they would be paying for that comment," Seiichi said calmly, "but seeing that they are playing Seigaku and Hari-chan… Well, I'm sure Hari-chan will deal with it."

There was a wicked gleam in Seiichi's eyes and Sanada almost shivered. Almost. He had been nervous showing the article to Seiichi knowing how protective he was of Hari.

"You really…" Sanada was lost for words.

"Hari-chan can take care of herself," Seiichi smiled slightly. "And I will not be surprised if their coach has her playing this…" he picked up the magazine again before he said, "Wakato Hiroshi. I almost feel sorry for him."

Sanada blinked before he smiled. "I see."

Seiichi nodded and tossed the magazine on the table again uncaring about the content. He didn't really like players like that… He sighed. He wondered if Hari was angry at it or if she had seen it at all…

"Seiichi-nii-chan!" A voice suddenly sounded followed by footsteps and then a young girl came rushing into the room and threw herself at Seiichi.

"Ouch," Seiichi said but hugged the young girl closer. "Hana-chan, nice to see you too."

"You've been gone forever!" The girl accused him with a glare. Her eyes very much like his own violet-blue though they were slightly bluer than his.

"Only a few days, Hana-chan," Seiichi smiled and cupped her cheek. "And you're here now, right?"

"Mm," Hana nodded. "Okaa-chan and Otou-chan told me we were going to go and see you and meet your girlfriend!"

Seiichi felt his eyes widen and heard Sanada muffle a snicker behind him.

"Meet…" Seiichi started.

"Yes, dear," a woman's voice said from the door. "We're here to meet your girlfriend."

Seiichi's head snapped and saw his mother standing there with his father both looking amused though a little annoyed as well. Seiichi swallowed nervously.

"Okaa-chan…" he started but the woman interrupted him while tossing her brown hair over her shoulder as she moved into the room.

"No," Yukimura Sora said. "We're going to finally meet your girlfriend, young man, and there's nothing you can say that will stop it!"

Seiichi glanced at his father who was frowning at him.

"Do you have any idea what you have put me through, Seiichi?" Yukimura Kouki asked.

"Eh? What?" Seiichi felt confused.

"My brother!" Kouki snapped. "My little brother is insufferable!"

Seiichi blinked and looked to Sanada who was trying not to laugh and Seiichi glared at him. Traitor. Just what had them so upset? He shifted in place and noticed that Hana was still hugging him around the waist.

"What?" Seiichi asked feeling uncommonly confused.

"You let my little brother meet your girlfriend before me!" Kouki complained. "How could you?!"

Seiichi just stared at him.

"Do you know how much he has teased me?" Kouki demanded when he saw the lack of reaction or caring from his son.

"I can't imagine," Seiichi deadpanned. "But it's not that long ago they met her."

"And we want to meet the young lady that has charmed you so," Sora declared with a charming smile that told Seiichi that she wouldn't be taking a 'no' for an answer.

Seiichi nodded wondering if Hari would be scared off by his parents.

"I don't like her," Hana declared and pulled away from Seiichi her arms folded over her chest as she glared. Her brown hair braided in pigtails and made her look quite adorable in Seiichi's mind, even though she was glaring at him.

"Why?" Seiichi asked. "Hari-chan is very nice."

"You _have_ to say that," Hana scoffed. "She has you fooled."

Seiichi glanced at his parents who shrugged and his mum even looked amused.

"You haven't meet Hari-chan yet, Hana-chan," Seiichi said.

"Still don't like her," Hana said stubbornly. "I won't."

Seiichi frowned slightly. He really wanted his little sister to like Hari, but the little girl looked rather set on her decision and Seiichi knew better than anyone how stubborn Hana could be when she had made up her mind about something.

...

Hari shook her head when Nanjiro scoffed and glared. She sighed.

"Why do you keep reading it, Otou-chan?" Hari asked exasperatedly as she sat down beside him on the sofa. "You're only getting annoyed."

Nanjiro looked at her and wailed, "He's so mean!"

"He's just trying to rile us up before the match," Hari shrugged.

Nanjiro huffed and picked up the magazine again and glared while Hari shook her head and wondered why Ryoga had shown Nanjiro the article in the first place. She had just gotten back from overreactions within her team who had read it and gotten angry and while she didn't like it she wasn't that upset. It wasn't the worst she had experienced after all. She could only wonder how they would react to the rivalry between Slytherin and Gryffindor.

Hari glanced at the article and read some of it along with Nanjiro.

 _The team I really want to play would be Seigaku! Just because that place seems to be full of weirdos! Do you know? They really make me laugh. They all have strange names for their shots, but that would mean that's all they have, right? No matter how you think about it, they seem so incompetent!_

Hari shook her head. If that was what he really believed then he would be in for a shock. She glanced at the picture of Wakato Hiroshi of Josei Shonan; his hair was strange was the first thought Hari had when looking at him. His hair was a red-orange colour (much like the Weasley's in fact) and it was longish, it reached the nape of his neck, but what made it weird was the fact that it seemed to point out in waves as he wore a white cap.

 _I'd really want to see what their coach looks like to have such performers in their team!_

Hari wondered if she had seen Ryuzaki so annoyed before as when she read that part of the interview. Inui had shown it to her during practice and Hari could practically see the anger burn around their coach.

"The old hag won't like that," Nanjiro commented with a wicked smirk.

"Shush," Hari nudged his shoulder and he shook his head before he glared again.

 _The one I am more concerned with is that girl! I can't believe they actually have a girl on their team! I just want to see if she's as good as everyone says. I can't believe it! I doubt she's anything special! I wonder who's her boyfriend to allow her on the team? I hope to play her so I can show her how a real man plays tennis!_

Ah, there it was. The reason why so many had been so angry over the interview.

"That-that-that-little-brat!" Nanjiro growled before suddenly pulling Hari into his arms and hugging her tightly to him. She struggled slightly feeling how breathing was becoming difficult… "My little girl is special! She's the best! He doesn't know what he's talking about!"

"Air…Breathe…Ot…Otou-chan…" Hari managed to get out.

"Oh," Nanjiro loosened his hold a little. "Sorry, Hari-chan."

"Seriously," Hari grumbled but didn't try to get completely free from his arms now that he had loosened his hold a little. In fact, Hari kind of enjoyed being hugged.

"Don't pay the mean boy any attention, Hari-chan," Nanjiro said patting her head and hugging her close. "You're so special."

Hari blushed and shook her head, "I don't care about him, Otou-chan."

"Good," Nanjiro said pleased. "The one playing him will have to get revenge!"

"That will be me," Hari said.

"What?" Nanjiro blinked.

"Ryuzaki-sensei got angry over the insult to our team," Hari snorted. "She got really riled up and said that I had to play him since we won't back away from a challenge like that."

"The old hag is competitive," Nanjiro nodded. "Well, of course, you'll crush him!"

Hari sighed but nodded. She wondered if she really was good enough, but even she felt the need to show him how wrong he was. Wakato Hiroshi. He'd regret challenging them.

...

Hari huffed as she realised that her team had moved. Again. It hadn't happened in a little while now but here she was on her own and no idea where the others had gone. They had met up and then she had to find a bathroom before the game started.

She sighed and looked around. Where could they be?

She started to walk in one direction where she thought they would be. Why had they moved again? She knew that Seiichi was somewhere around because they had a match as well and she wondered if she would be able to see him at all before they were done. She felt a little silly missing him already, but she did.

"Ah, another Echizen?" a voice said and Hari paused looking around and saw a woman with red hair and glasses and a curvy body that she seemed to show off with rather inappropriate clothing.

"Sorry?" Hari blinked and noticed the team surrounding her and recognized Wakato Hiroshi from the article and she realised who they were. "Ah. Josei Shonan."

"I'm their coach, Hanamura Aoi," the woman said with a smile. "You are Echizen Hari, right?"

"Yes," Hari said warily.

"Ah! The girl on Seigaku!" Wakato exclaimed and came toward her. "I'm your opponent today!"

"I know," Hari said.

"I'll show you a real tennis player," Wakato smiled. "Then maybe you'd like to come on a date with me?"

Hari arched a brow, "no thank you. Besides, I'll win."

He huffed. "Why? Do you have a boyfriend?"

Hari looked at him blankly for a moment, "I don't see why that's your business, Wakato-san."

"I…"

"Ignore him," another of the boys said as he put a hand over Wakato's mouth to stop the retort. "I apologize on his behalf."

Hari eyed the new boy with medium length brown hair that spiked slightly in the back and long side bangs in the front. He looked nice enough, Hari guessed, but kind of aloof.

"Hm," Hari said, "it's not me you need to worry about, Captain-san. Rather my team…they are rather annoyed with him, you see."

She saw the arched brow from the boy and guessed that her guess of him being the captain was correct.

"I see," he said, "I'm Kajimoto Takahisa."

"Can I tempt you to come and join us at Josei, Echizen Hari?" Hanamura interrupted.

"No, thank you," Hari said immediately.

"Another refusal," one of the twins in the background said. "You Echizen's are rather snobbish, aren't you?"

Hari looked at them blankly, "you asked my brother?"

"Yes, I would be able to complete him as the best masterpiece ever," Hanamura declared. "You too!"

Hari snorted, "no way. Let me guess, Ryo-chan said the same, right? Who wants to be complete in Middle School? There are so many years left to develop and learn!"

She saw the arched brow from Kajimoto and heard the muffled sound from Wakato who still had his mouth covered by his captain.

"Well, I have to find my team," Hari said and waved. "See you soon, I guess."

Just as she turned she heard footsteps and a shout of; "Hari-chan!"

"Ah," Hari said. "Momo-chan."

"Why did you go off by yourself, Hari-chan?!" Momoshiro complained. "You got lost again!"

"No, I didn't," Hari protested. "You guys moved!"

"No, we didn't!" Momoshiro protested. "What have we told you? Take someone with you when you go off!"

"I can find my way on my own, Momo-chan," Hari huffed and started to walk ignoring the staring Josei team.

"That's the wrong way, Hari-chan!" Momoshiro exclaimed exasperatedly.

...

Hari noticed Sakuno shivering and shrugged off her jacket before walking over to the younger girl.

"Here," Hari said holding out the jacket for her.

"Eh?" Sakuno blinked.

"You look cold," Hari said, and _uncomfortable_ , she thought but didn't add. It was clear that the idea of dressing up in cheerleading outfits had been Tomoka's idea and Sakuno had been dragged into it.

"But…"

Hari smiled and put the jacket around Sakuno's shoulders when the younger girl didn't do anything to take the jacket.

"We can't have you getting sick, Sakuno-chan," Hari smiled.

"But it's your jacket," Sakuno said shyly, "and the teams' jacket."

"You're on the team as well, you know," Hari smiled, "you always support us so well and I think you're more than worthy to borrow my jacket. It's fine."

Sakuno blinked at her before she smiled. "Thank you, Hari-chan."

Hari smiled and glanced at Tomoka who was jumping up and down cheering while Horio whined and tried to calm her down but was actually only just riling her up even more. She sighed.

"You should learn to tell her no when she wants you to do something you don't want to, Sakuno-chan;" Hari said looking back at Sakuno.

"It's to support the team;" Sakuno protested timidly, "to support Ryoma-kun."

Hari glanced at Ryoma who looked like he was asleep as he leaned against a tree.

"If you're uncomfortable then it's not worth it, Sakuno-chan," Hari said mildly. "Ryo-chan will appreciate the support even if you are dressed in warmer clothes and are comfortable. He doesn't need you to shout and dance. He knows you support him and that's what matters."

Sakuno blinked but then she nodded.

"Okay," Sakuno said.

Hari smiled again before turning away and noticed Ryuzaki watching them and gave Hari a small smile to show her gratitude. Hari just smiled back before walking over to Fuji.

...

"Ah," Momoshiro suddenly said. "That's the woman who was with Josei before. Right, Hari-chan?"

Hari looked over to where Momoshiro was looking and saw the woman and how she flipped her hair over her shoulders as she talked to someone.

"Yeah," Hari nodded. "She's their coach."

"Really?" Momoshiro asked.

"She's weird," Ryoma said. "She hit on me earlier."

"Me too," Hari nodded but smirked slightly.

"EH?" The others exclaimed staring at them shocked.

Hari laughed and exchanged a smirk with Ryoma who knew what she meant.

"What…"

"No way!"

"She's a grow-up!"

Hari laughed even more and leaned against Ryoma, "calm down."

"But, Hari-chan…" Kikumaru whined.

Ryoma huffed but smiled slightly when he saw the innocent look on Hari's face.

"We only meant that she invited us to transfer over to their school," Hari said.

They all fell silent before again exploding into protests and Kikumaru even pulled Ryoma into a hug and crying that he would protect him and not let him go.

"We said no," Ryoma huffed getting free from Hari. "At least I did."

"Well…" Hari smiled.

"Hari-chan?" Kikumaru wailed before he lunged at her and hugged her too.

"We won't let them have you!" Momoshiro declared.

"Of course not," Fuji smiled.

Hari managed to get free from Kikumaru and laughed. "I said no. Calm down."

Hari shook her head at how easy it was to rile them up and grinned when she saw Ron and Hermione coming toward them.

"You looked amused," Ron commented smiling more openly now that they had cleared the air between them.

"I guess," Hari grinned. "They are so easily riled up."

Ron laughed and Hermione shook her head but looked amused.

"You ready for the match?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah," Hari nodded, "can't wait."

...

The first match was Inui and Kaido against the twins from Josei Shonan, Tanaka Yohei and Kohei. Hari found they were more annoying twins that the Weasley twins. While Fred and George were amusing she just found Yohei and Kohei annoying and rather rude. But she might have been a little biased as she was on the other team from them. She had to admit though, that their super-hearing ability was rather cool. Still, Kaido and Inui managed to win despite Kaido getting annoyed and almost messed up his snake shots.

Then Kikumaru and Oishi faced Kiriyama Daichi and Ota Shou in doubles one. They were challenging and had a rather interesting move called thunderbolt where Ota who was much shorter and smaller in build that Kiriyama used Kiriyama's back to jump up in order to return the high balls. But Kikumaru and Oishi managed to win by using a new formation that they had learned very recently.

"You're turn, Hari-chan," Kikumaru grinned as he high-fived her. "Go and crush that arrogant brat."

Hari laughed and nodded.

She saw the stunned looks on Josei's faces and glanced at their coach who was looking thoughtful as her eyes scanned her. Hari felt rather uncomfortable as the woman kept staring at her like she was trying to figure her out.

...

The loud cheering from the girls reminded Hari very much of Keigo and Hyotei and was not surprised when Wakato strutted onto the court with a wave and charming smile. So like Keigo… Hari wished they would shut up because the sound was annoying and she couldn't understand how they could even reach those notes.

She stared at him blankly as he winked to his fans and sent a kiss making them swoon. She kind of wished Snape could see this behaviour and then realise that Hari was nowhere as bad as this.

"Ah, ready to lose?" Wakato smirked.

"Are you talking to yourself?" Hari deadpanned.

He laughed and she rolled her eyes. So annoying…

He suddenly got a serious look in his eyes before he pulled his cap out of his pocket and tossed it into the air calling; "change…"

"Over!" The fangirls finished.

Hari arched a brow as she saw him catching the cap again and putting it on backwards. There was something else in his eyes now and she knew he would have some talent, she wondered what the 'change over' meant, but it didn't worry her too much.

...

Hari had the first serve and knew she had to start strong. She tossed the ball up and used her slice serve. She felt her eyes widen when he suddenly changed his stance as the ball moved over the net and his style changed. She knew he would return it but not like she wanted but she was prepared when the ball came back and returned it over the net again.

They rallied the ball back and forth a little while and Hari cursed when the ball got passed her and he took the first points.

...

0- **15: Josei**

...

She narrowed her eyes as she looked at him. That style… it was familiar, but why… He looked confident and smug. She wished she could wipe that look off his face.

She got ready to serve the ball again and he returned it once more. She could see how his moves worked and where he would return the ball but right now it was like it was a little too fast for her… it was almost like playing against someone on Nanjiro's level…

...

0- **30: Josei**

...

Oh.

Really? Could he do that? Hari paused as she looked at Wakato with mild surprise. Someone on Nanjiro's level but not quite. Someone like Lleyton Hewitt. He was one of the top pros still playing in the world and Hari had watched some of his matches on the telly.

"Hm," she said. "Kind of interesting."

He smirked at her like he knew what she was thinking.

So he was able to imitate the styles of top tennis players, but it was more than just simple imitations. He could do the moves just like them, not a fake one. She now picked up on the talk from her team and knew they had noticed the same. She heard someone say it was as if Hewitt was really there.

But still…he was just a pretender. She could still turn this around.

...

 **1** -0: Game Josei's Wakato

...

Hari stood still as she realised that she had lost the first game, but that didn't mean it was over. She could still counter this. She ignored the sounds around her as she focused. If he could bring out top players then she had to remember how it was to play Nanjiro. She had experience in playing against someone on that level and while she never had won against Nanjiro she would have a chance here because Nanjiro would be better than all of them (of course he was) and it didn't change the fact that it was really Wakato she was playing.

Okay. She was not giving up. She'd show him.

...

Ryoma smiled as he saw Hari's look. Good, she was determined. She would not break down because Wakato took the first game.

"She's not even nervous," Ron commented.

"She's not," Ryoma agreed. "I bet she's thinking about stupid Oyaji."

"Eh?"

"He's better than that Hewitt guy," Ryoma smirked. "Hari has played Oyaji a lot so she's not intimidated by someone pretending to be someone else."

Ron laughed slightly and nodded.

They watched as Wakato served and Hari returned the ball and they rallied back and forth until Wakato returned a high ball and Ryoma smirked knowing what would come now.

Hari jumped and again it was like there were wings on her back and she looked like she was on fire with the speed she used as she jumped up and used her backhand volley to smash the ball hard. The ball was almost flattening as it hit the ground leaving a scorch mark when it spun away and out of the court. That was a first and Ryoma realised that her smash had gotten even harder than before.

Stunned silence fell as Wakato and his team stared at the scorch mark on the court before looking over at Hari who had landed elegantly and was looking as calm as may be.

"Awesome," Kikumaru cheered breaking the silence.

"Go Hari-chan!" Tomoka and Sakuno cheered jumping up and down.

...

"That move…" Kajimoto muttered. "The Phoenix Rising…"

"Can't believe it is that strong…" Yohei and Kohei said.

"Good move," Kiriyama murmured.

Kajimoto looked at Wakato who had gotten over his surprise now and was watching Hari with a pensive look on his face. Kajimoto knew that his teammate was considering what player he should imitate next in order to block that move from Hari. He had to admit, though, that Hari was better than he had thought.

...

The game continued and the balance shifted back and forth with Hari and Wakato both did their best. Hari got used to his style of pretender but it did get her confused a couple of times.

"Hari-chan is doing well," Fuji commented when she won another game.

...

2- **4: Game for Seigaku's Hari**

...

"Yes," Oishi nodded. "She's gotten even stronger."

"Of course she has," Ryoma said confidently.

Fuji smiled but didn't comment.

...

Hari frowned when she saw Wakato stare at her and wondered what he was thinking now. He had gone through several top tennis players now and she wondered who he would try to be next. She couldn't help but think that it was kind of annoying and almost fake. Not that she would put down anyone for playing the way they wanted, but… why couldn't at least make it his own if he was going to take inspiration from them? She was more curious about what he could do on his own.

"I wonder…" Wakato said and she arched a brow. "How would you handle playing against… yourself?"

Hari watched as he took his pose and restrained her need to roll her eyes (again).

"Change…"

"…over!" the fangirls squealed.

His stance changed and she realised with apprehension that his stance resembled her own now.

This was going to be annoying…

...

0- **40** : Josei

...

She was right. It was annoying. His moves were her own and it was not as easy as it sounded to essentially play yourself. She wiped her brow as she saw the smug look on Wakato's face. She really wanted to wipe that off his face.

"Oh, how will she get over this?" Horio wailed.

"She seems to be struggling," Sakuno said worriedly as she pulled the jacket Hari had given her closer around her.

Hari could hear them but she ignored them.

...

 **15** -40: Seigaku

...

Finally. She got a ball past him by using her speed and fast reflexes. She saw the annoyed look on Wakato's face but that only made her smile.

She closed her eyes. She had to calm down and not get stressed. So what if he could imitate her? She was still better. She was still the original while he was the copy. That meant that her moves were stronger and that she knew them even better than he did.

Right. She could do this.

Her eyes snapped open again and she bounced the ball a couple of times before preparing for the slice serve. She was already running when he returned the ball and smirked when it was a high ball so she jumped her arms out to the side and felt the wind in her hair and on her face as she rose in the air.

Smash!

The ball flew past Wakato who stood stunned on the court. She landed and heard the cheering from her team and friends.

...

 **6** -3: Game and match Seigaku's Hari!

...

She had won! She had done it! Hari smiled as she let out a pleased laugh. She loved the thrill she felt and the way she felt like she was walking on air.

"Good game," Wakato said with a forced smile when they met at the net.

"You too," Hari nodded and shook his hand.

She walked away from him and grinned as she was surrounded by her team and felt them patting her shoulders and squeezing her hands as they congratulated her on her win. She smiled as she was hugged by Ron and Hermione who had come over to celebrate as well.

"Great job, Hari!" Ron complimented. "You were great!"

"Thanks, Ron," Hari smiled.

She met Ryuzaki's eyes and she nodded with a pleased smile on her face. She knew Ryuzaki was thinking about the article and was happy that Hari had won this match. She almost shuddered at the thought of what would have happened if she had lost… it would not have been pleasant.

...

Seiichi sighed as he listened to his mum talk and ask questions about Hari. She had been doing that since they arrived last night.

"I don't know what Hari-chan has planned for university," Seiichi sighed and shot Sanada a look when he saw his lips twitch.

"But…"

"We're in Middle School, Okaa-chan," Seiichi interrupted her. "I think High School comes before University."

"Then what High School is she planning to attend?" Sora asked.

"We haven't talked about that," Seiichi said.

"Why not?" Sora asked. "You're going to High School next year and…"

"..and she has another year at Middle School to go," Seiichi said.

"Okay," Sora frowned, "then what class is her favourite?"

"She likes practical classes," Seiichi said. "But she also likes literature and Modern Japanese."

Sora nodded, "she talks Japanese very well, doesn't she?"

"Yes," Seiichi said. "She does. Why don't you save some questions for her, Okaa-chan?"

"I will ask her as well, but as your mother I want to know the girl you like," Sora said.

Seiichi forced himself to be calm and not allow a sigh to slip out. He really hoped that Hari would not run away from his mum and all her questions…

They were on their way to the court were Seigaku was playing (hopefully they were still there). He had wanted to be there to watch Hari play but since his own team had to play at the same time he couldn't be there to watch Hari as well.

So now when they were done with their match (they had won) he was bringing his parents to meet Hari. He had a feeling that he had forgotten something, though, but he couldn't remember what it was.

"I'll see you later," Sanada suddenly said. "I think you should probably introduce Hari-chan to your parents alone."

"You know you are more than welcome to come, Genichiro," Seiichi said.

"You can't hide behind me, Seiichi," Sanada deadpanned but Seiichi saw the amusement in his eyes. "It will be fine. Hari-chan is a nice girl and I'm sure she's expecting to meet your parents soon."

Seiichi stilled and for a second he felt like someone had hit him.

"Seiichi?" Hana asked from beside him. "Are you okay? You look funny."

"I…" Seiichi grimaced. "I forgot."

"Forgot?" Sanada blinked at him.

"To tell her that my parents and little sister are here," Seiichi said.

Sanada stared at him before he huffed a laugh in a way that was uncharacteristic for him.

"That might be a problem," Sanada said. "But there's nothing you can do about it now. We're almost there. Well, I'll see you later. Good luck."

With that he nodded at Seiichi and walked away.

"Traitor," Seiichi muttered wondering how he could have forgotten to tell Hari that his parents and little sister were here and wanted to meet her! How could he…! Oh, she was going to be so mad at him.

"Seiichi!" Sora called noticing that Seiichi had stopped and was now a few steps behind them. "Come on!"

"We want to meet her today, you know," Kouki arched a brow at Seiichi. "I can't have my brother be the only one who has met her much longer!"

...

They found Seigaku still there clearly just finishing the matches and by the look of it, they had won. Seiichi smiled and glanced at the board and saw that Seigaku had won all of their matches and wondered if Hari had played that Wakato-guy.

"Ah, Yukimura," Fuji said with a calm smile.

"Fuji," Seiichi nodded. "I see you won."

"Yeah," Fuji said. "We did."

He glanced behind Seiichi who noticed how the other boy's lips twitched as his eyes snapped to him again with a knowing look on his face.

"She's over here," Fuji said. "I'm afraid she's a little…angry."

"Angry?" Seiichi frowned. "Why?"

"Well, Echizen's match against Shinjo Reiji got a little…violent," Fuji said delicately.

"Ah," Seiichi said. "Is Echizen alright?"

He knew Hari was very protective over her little brother and if he was hurt…

"He's fine," Fuji said with a wave of his hand, "but he got a cut on his cheek."

Seiichi nodded, "and it was done by the other player?"

"Well, yeah," Fuji nodded, "Echizen has a way to provoke others, and while it is amusing and gives a lot of free entertainment it does tend to push them to sometimes…snap and well…Echizen won and proved to be the better player, but you know Hari-chan. He hurt her brother, so she's angry."

Seiichi nodded and around to see Hari frowning and having her arms crossed over her chest. He saw Ryoma sitting on the bench and that he had a bandage on his cheek. He knew her well enough to pick up on the worry in her eyes as she looked at him. He also noticed her two friends from Britain standing beside her and saw when the redhead noticed him. Ron nudged Hari who looked over and saw him.

She met his eyes for a moment before she looked away and said something to her friends before she moved toward them.

"Hey," Hari said with a small smile when she reached him and Seiichi couldn't stop himself from reaching out and push a strand of her hair out of her face as he looked at her worriedly. "I'm fine."

He smiled, "good."

Some of the tension left her shoulders as she smiled at him. A small cough behind him reminded him of who he had with him and he swallowed and grabbed one of her hands as he pulled her with him.

"My parents and little sister is here," Seiichi said. "They want to meet you."

...

Hari forced herself not to still as she let her eyes snap to the couple standing behind Seiichi and realised that they were moving toward them now. She also saw the young girl about five year's old standing beside the woman with a small glare on her face.

"Hari-chan?" Seiichi sounded nervous.

She pushed her nerves back and met Seiichi's eyes. He looked nervous and like he was sorry about something. She smiled and nodded knowing that if he could meet her family then she could meet his. She had already met his aunt and uncle and that had gone fine…so this should be fine as well, right?

They reached his parents and Hari steeled herself and forced the whispered; _what if they don't like you? What if they say you can't see their son? What if they see that you're not good enough? What if…_ out of her mind the best she could.

"Okaa-chan, Otou-chan, this is my girlfriend, Echizen Hari," Seiichi said and Hari felt him squeeze her hand. "Hari-chan, this is my parents, Yukimura Sora and Yukimura Kouki."

"Nice to meet you," Hari said bowing politely to them and relieved that her voice was still steady.

She looked up and met their searching eyes and she noticed that Seiichi had his father's eyes and looks. She could feel her insecurities fill her as they watched her and she forced herself not to shift in place.

"It's so nice to finally meet you too," Sora finally said with a warm smile. "Our Seiichi has talked about you and we're so happy to finally meet you!"

"Even if he introduced his uncle before us," Kouki added in a deep voice.

"Um, sorry?" Hari said uncertainly as she glanced at Seiichi who shook his head.

"Seiichi should be," Kouki said but Hari saw the amusement in his eyes so she knew he was just kidding. "As my wife said, it's very nice to meet you, Echizen-san."

"You can call me Hari," Hari said shyly. "I am not used to be called by my last name."

Also strange since she had not been called Echizen for many months. Though, she liked the name. It made her feel like she belonged.

"Hari-chan, then," Kouki smiled.

"Hari-chan," Seiichi stepped in and looked to his little sister who had been surprisingly quiet as she was watching Hari from behind Sora's legs. "This is my little sister, Hana-chan."

Hari looked to the little girl who was glaring and Hari looked to Seiichi who sighed.

"Hey, Hana-chan," Hari said. "Nice to meet you."

"Hmph," Hana said looking away.

"Hana, be polite," Sora scolded lightly.

"Don't want to," Hana said.

"It's fine," Hari said smiling slightly.

Seiichi frowned but didn't say anything but Hari felt him squeeze her hand.

...

"Would you like to join us for dinner?" Sora asked and Hari bit down on her lip before glancing to Seiichi who smiled reassuringly.

"Oh, um, okay, I would like that," Hari said despite knowing that her friends were going to Kawamura's place to celebrate like they used to do. But she didn't feel that she could say no to Seiichi's parents.

"Great!" Sora smiled.

"Hari?" Ryoma spoke up and Hari turned to look at him.

"Ah, Ryo-chan," Hari smiled.

"Yukimura," Ryoma nodded.

"Echizen," Seiichi smiled. "You okay?"

"Fine," Ryoma shrugged and looked at Hari.

"Who's this?" Kouki asked curiously.

"This is my little brother, Echizen Ryoma," Hari said, "Ryo-chan; this is Sei-chan's parents."

"Nice to meet you," Ryoma said.

"You too," Sora smiled and looked curiously between them.

"Um, I'm going to join Sei-chan and his parents and sister for dinner," Hari said and Ryoma frowned slightly. "Can you…can you tell the others?"

"Sure," Ryoma said. "I'll tell Oyaji as well."

Hari grimaced slightly but nodded, "good. Thanks."

Ryoma smiled and nodded to the others before he walked away and was immediately joined by Momoshiro.

...

"Are you sure that you want to?" Seiichi asked quietly when they made their way to a restaurant. His parents were walking in front of them with Hana giving Hari and Seiichi a moment to themselves.

"Of course," Hari smiled.

"You didn't have plans?" Seiichi looked worriedly.

"The others were going to Kawamura-senpai's place to celebrate with sushi," Hari said and saw Seiichi open his mouth but put her hands over his mouth to stop him speaking. "It's fine, Sei-chan. I want to be with you and get to know your parents."

Hari removed her hand and saw the smile on Seiichi's face and she couldn't help but think that he looked adorable and really cute. She also liked the way his eyes lit up and warmed as he leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers in a light kiss.

"Ew…" a voice suddenly said making Seiichi pull back and Hari remembered that his family was still there and was now watching them. Sora looked pleased while Kouki was smiling with a teasing gleam in his eyes as he looked at Seiichi. Hana was pouting and glaring at the same time making an interesting expression on her face.

Hari blushed and looked down but Seiichi grabbed her hand again and squeezed it tightly as he rolled his eyes at his family.

"Come on, Hana-chan," Seiichi said. "Don't be like that…"

"It's still ew," Hana said.

Hari couldn't help but smile slightly.

...

The conversation went easily enough. Hari found that Seiichi's parents were kind and had a sense of humour. She enjoyed watching Seiichi's father tease him and try to provoke him into reacting. It was amusing.

"You won your match today, I hear," Kouki smiled looking over at Hari.

"Yeah," Hari smiled remembering it.

"You played Wakato, right?" Seiichi asked.

"Yes," Hari nodded.

"Good, I hope you didn't go easy on him," Seiichi said an annoyed look on his face.

"You saw the article," Hari realised.

"Genichiro showed me," Seiichi nodded. "He was rather rude."

"I guess," Hari nodded, "everyone was angry over it. Even Ryuzaki-sensei got riled up over it."

"That's why you played him?" Seiichi asked.

"Yeah," Hari snorted. "You should have seen her when Inui-senpai showed her the article. She got so angry that she yelled and declared right then and there that I was playing him and that I had to win or else."

Seiichi laughed and his parents chuckled as well.

"Seiichi-nii-chan is the best at tennis," Hana declared suddenly. "He would have won too!"

Hari looked at Hana and then glanced at Seiichi who blinked.

"I am sure he would have," Hari agreed.

"You haven't watched him play," Hana frowned at her. "Don't pretend that you know him!"

"Hana," Seiichi said with a frown.

"Hmph," Hana looked away.

Hari was a little unsure about how to handle this. Should she ignore it or should she try to talk?

"I'm sorry I haven't gotten to watch him play yet, but I can tell he is good," Hari said slowly. "Sanada-san and Minoru-chan have told me how good he is, and Otou-chan told me that he could tell that Sei-chan had talent after meeting him."

Hana looked at her with sceptical eyes.

"How would your dad know that?"

"He said that?" Seiichi asked at the same time a little surprised.

Hari glanced at him and rolled her eyes, "oh yeah, he did. When I got back and he got over his complaining and whining. He started to complain that he had to wait until he could play you and test you himself."

"Your dad wants to play me?" Seiichi wasn't sure what to think about that.

"He wants to play anyone, but especially those he can sense talent from," Hari said with a smile.

"Oi!" Hana interrupted and glared. "You haven't answered me!"

"Hana," Sora frowned at her.

Hari looked back at Hana and smiled again, "Otou-chan is a former pro tennis player. That's why he can see the talent of other players. He's still rather strong."

"Oh? He is?" Kouki asked. "Who is he?"

"Echizen Nanjiro," Hari said.

"Really, he's your dad?" Kouki asked and glanced at Seiichi. "He was a very good player. I remember when he suddenly quit. No one understood why because he was not injured nor was he remotely close to being too old to play."

Hari nodded, "I know. He got bored, I think. And he got a new dream. He wanted to watch and help Ryo-chan develop as a tennis player. Though, sometimes I think he is just plain lazy and enjoys provoking Ryo-chan more than teaching him."

Seiichi laughed and shook his head, "that sounds like him from what I know and you've told me."

Hari smiled and shrugged.

"You're Japanese?" Hana frowned. "You don't look Japanese."

Hari blinked and then looked at Hana. "Um. No. I'm English, but I was adopted by Nanjiro and Rinko recently and they've become my parents."

Hari was open about the adoption. Most knew about it anyway, but she still felt a little on the spot and awkward. She didn't really want to go into details and she hoped they wouldn't ask too much about it. She didn't want to talk about it and she didn't want to lie.

"So, Seiichi has met your dad," Sora said changing the subject slightly much to Hari's relief.

"Yeah," Hari nodded and smiled at Seiichi. She still was grateful for him meeting Nanjiro and not getting scared away.

"I remember meeting my wife's parents for the first time," Kouki said looking amused, "I thought her dad would kill me."

"Of course he wouldn't have," Sora dismissed but she looked amused.

"Well, I think Hari-chan's dad wanted to kill me," Seiichi said dryly. "He definitely thought about it."

Hari laughed, "he didn't want to kill you, Sei-chan. Just…scare you."

Seiichi gave her a look.

"I think," she added with a thoughtful look.

"You think," Seiichi chuckled. "Right."

...

 **Somewhere else…**

...

A man was sitting by himself under the stars and was looking out over a great canyon with a worried frown on his face. He ignored the dying fire burning close by and knew he could change into his dog form should he wish for more warmth.

He had just gotten a letter from Remus and it was worrying. He couldn't believe that he hadn't heard about this before now! How could he not have been told that Hari had left her home and was missing?

 _Padfoot,_

 _I know I should have told you before, but I thought you would do something stupid and risk your safety. Hari has been missing for months now and even Dumbledore is no closer in finding her. She left her home soon after being suspended from Hogwarts in March. She also resigned from the school and won't be coming back to Hogwarts next semester._

 _I am worried about her, Padfoot. I am not sure if Ron and Hermione know anything about where she is, but I know they have denied knowing anything when speaking to Dumbledore. I can't help but wonder, though. I tried finding them to ask, but Molly Weasley said that Ron and Hermione are visiting Japan with her oldest two boys along with the twins._

 _I will continue to look for her, my friend. Please, don't do anything stupid. Hari would hate it if you got caught looking for her and she would blame herself if you got kissed or put back in Azkaban over this. I will write again when I have news._

 _Your old friend,_

 _Moony._

Sirius had read the letter so many times now that he knew it by heart. How could he not be told that Hari had left home? What if she was hurt? What if she… No, he couldn't think like that. He had to think that she was fine.

Hedwig had found him not that long after he had left and he had written to her, he wondered if she had left her home by then. Oh, what should he do now?

Ron and Hermione was visiting Japan? When their best friend was missing? There was something funny there, Sirius thought. A howl sounded from the distance but Sirius didn't move. He knew that if it was his best friend then he wouldn't be going on a vacation…unless…they knew something that no one else did.

Of course, it might not be anything funny about it at all. But he had seen the bond between them. Ron and Hermione had seemed to be really close with Hari. Closer than most normal friends. It reminded him of the bonds he had shared with James and Remus (he purposely ignored Pettigrew), a bond that made you learn how to become an animagus because your friend was a werewolf and you wanted to help him.

It was worth a thought.

Sirius sighed and looked up at the stars.

"I'm sorry, Prongs," he whispered. "I have failed your daughter, but I'll find her and this time I won't walk away from her. I promise."

 **...**

 **...**

 **AN:** **What do you think? XD**

 **So sorry for the delay. I must admit that I had a little writing block on this chapter. I know it's not the best, I just couldn't get it to flow right. But I did my best and just had to say that it was as good as it was going to get. :)**

 **Thank you for your patience and support as always! XD**

 **Japanese words used:**  
 **Senpai - upperclassman**  
 **Nii-chan - older brother**  
 **Okaa-chan - mum**  
 **Otou-chan - dad**  
 **Oyaji - old man/dad**


	46. Bonding

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Prince of Tennis!**

 **...**

 **...**

 **...**

"Oi, scoot over," An said nudging Hari. Hari rolled her eyes but did make room for her on the sofa and plopped her legs over An's lap making the other girl mock glare at her but she didn't push the legs of.

"So, how long are you staying here, Granger-san?" Yoshida asked looking over at Hermione who was sitting in a comfortable chair. Hermione looked at Hari before she looked back at Yoshida.

"Only a few more days," Hermione said sadly. "We can't really stay much longer."

Hari sighed sadly. She knew that they couldn't stay much longer, but she was going to miss them.

"Oh," Yoshida said. "Have you had a good stay at least?"

"Of course," Hermione smiled and looked at Hari. "It's been really great getting to see Hari again and see how she lives now."

Hari smiled at Hermione knowing what she meant with that statement.

"Thanks, Hermione," Hari grinned. "I have enjoyed having you here as well. Though, I haven't seen too much of the twins lately."

"They're busy looking around Tokyo and gets new ideas for their pranks," Hermione rolled her eyes. "Bill and Charlie have been with them trying to keep them out of trouble."

"Ah," Hari nodded. "I think I feel sorry for you when school starts up again."

"You should," Hermione said.

"Pranks?" Sakuno asked looking between them.

"Ron's twin brothers love a good prank," Hermione said with a long-suffering sigh.

"They do," Hari grinned. "They sent me a toilet seat once."

Sakuno, An and Yoshida gaped at Hari.

"What?" An asked.

Hari and Hermione exchanged a look before they laughed.

"You're kidding," Yoshida said.

"No," Hari shook her head. "I'm not. I was…in the hospital wing for a few days at the end of my first year, and they sent it to me. Madam Pomfrey confiscated it, though."

Hari pouted.

"But..." Sakuno blinked.

"Why were you in the hospital wing?" An asked patting Hari's leg to get her attention.

Hari frowned slightly and glanced at Hermione and saw the sad look on her face as well and knew she was remembering their first big adventure and the results of it. She shook her head slightly.

"Nothing major," Hari dismissed and waved a hand. "Anyway, madam Pomfrey said it was unhealthy and wouldn't even let me see it."

The girls laughed and Hari and Hermione shared some more of Fred and George's pranks (of course keeping the magic out of it) much to the other's merriment.

...

"So, how is your boyfriend, Hari-chan?" An asked wiggling her brows and Hari blushed.

"Oh, look at the blush," Hermione grinned leaning forward. "I'm curious as well. You didn't say how the meeting with his parents went yesterday."

"You met his parents?" Yoshida asked curiously and even Sakuno looked curious.

Hari looked around and saw their eager faces and bit down on her lip to stop from smiling too much. She had never thought she would get to experience this. Sitting the basement of a friend's house and just talking and gossiping about random stuff and having fun. It was not like this at Hogwarts. She had not really had any interest in stuff like this at Hogwarts. But now she found it rather nice and fun. Huh. Things did change, she guessed.

"He's fine," Hari said smiling. "He went back home today, though."

"Aw, you miss him," An smiled.

"I guess I do," Hari shrugged. "I don't like that he lives in another city."

"But he's here pretty often, right?" Sakuno asked timidly.

"More often than normal," Hari nodded.

"Because of you," Yoshida grinned. "How cute."

Hari smiled again but blushed.

"And his parents? How did that go?" Hermione asked again.

"It went fine," Hari said. "They're nice and they seemed to try to get to know me."

"They looked nice," Hermione nodded.

"I think his dad and Otou-chan would get along pretty well," Hari said thoughtfully.

"If Nanjiro-san gets over the _wanting-to-kill-your-boyfriend-phase_ ," Hermione added.

"Right," Hari nodded.

"It's adorable with how protective he is over you," Hermione said.

"It's way over the top," Hari grumbled.

"At least he wants to protect you," Hermione said quietly and Hari looked over at her and she knew that Hermione was referring to the Dursley's who would not care at all.

"Yeah," Hari said equally quiet and ignored the looks from the others.

"But his sister didn't seem to like you very much," Hermione said turning back to the topic of conversation.

"She didn't?" An asked.

"She's a tough one," Hari nodded. "But it's fine."

"How old is she?" Sakuno asked.

"She's five-years-old," Hari said.

"Ah, you're the girl trying to take her brother away, huh?" Yoshida guessed.

Hari nodded and sighed. She would admit that it was cute how possessive Hana was of Seiichi, but at the same time, it was a little frustrating. She really wanted Seiichi's sister to like her.

"I don't really know what to do about it, though," Hari sighed. "How do you win over a five-year-old girl?"

"I don't know," An said. "Maybe just give it time?"

Hari nodded but wished for a faster way.

"Guess so," Hari said.

...

"Hello, Echizen-san," a woman with her hair pulled back in a bun said.

"Um," Hari blinked as she looked at the pair that was standing by the front door. She had been on her way out when opened the door and found the woman and a man outside about to knock on the door. "Hey."

"Hisakawa-san sent us," the woman said. "I'm Akiyama Yuko and this is my partner Akiyama Shotaro."

Hari glanced between them. A married couple?

"From DME?" Hari asked.

"Yes," Akiyama Shotaro nodded. "My wife seems to have forgotten to mention that."

"Ah, I forgot," Akiyama Yuko blushed.

"Well, come in," Hari said stepping back and allowing the two to enter the house. She glanced at the clock and frowned.

"Are we keeping you from something?" Akiyama Shotaro asked.

"I'm sorry," Hari apologized sheepishly at being caught checking the time. "I was supposed to meet some friends, but I'll just send them a message and let them know that I'll be late."

"We're sorry for showing up unannounced," Akiyama Yuko said.

"It's fine," Hari said. "I did know that you would be here soon."

She led the way to the living room and smiled when she saw Ryoga sitting on the sofa.

"Visitors?" Ryoga asked looking up from his book.

"Yeah," Hari nodded. "About my magical schooling."

"I see," Ryoga said. "I'll go and read somewhere else so I won't disturb you if you don't want me here?"

Hari bit her lip and glanced at the guest before looking back at her brother. She knew that both Rinko and Nanjiro was out and that Ryoga was the only one home right now, so it did tempt her to have him with her as she spoke to them.

"If you don't mind?" Hari looked at him.

"Of course not," Ryoga smiled.

"Sorry," Hari said looking at Akiyama Yuko. "This is my older brother, Echizen Ryoga."

"Nice to meet you," Ryoga nodded.

The Akiyama's returned the greeting and with that sat down while Hari hurried to the kitchen to prepare some coffee or tea. She bustled around looking for cups and wished that Hermione was there now. She tried to remember everything they had talked about before knowing that it was time to put some of her plans into motion.

"I'm sorry we don't have anything else," Hari said as she put the coffee down.

"It's fine, Echizen-san," Akiyama Yuko said kindly. "We did show up unannounced."

"Why did you?" Ryoga asked making Hari glanced at him. "Isn't it normal to make an appointment in matters like this?"

"Ryoga-nii," Hari started.

"Your brother is right, Echizen-san," Akiyama Shotaro interrupted Hari making her look over at him. "We do normally do that, but this matter is a little different. We do not want to make it obvious that you are here, and Hisakawa asked for our discretion. That's why we decided to keep the appointment off the books if you want to call it that."

"So, I'm not in any official papers?" Hari asked strangely relieved.

"No," Akiyama Yuko said. "Hisakawa has made that clear. Our President does know that you are here, of course, and he has agreed to keep it hidden. He does not agree with children being pushed into anything they don't want to just because of your name."

Ryoga frowned slightly and looked at Hari but Hari didn't look at him as she tried to read the pair in front of her. She could not detect anything that said that they were lying.

"I see," Hari said. "Thank you."

They nodded.

...

"So, Hisakawa-san said you needed some help about your magical schooling," Akiyama Yuko said changing the subject.

"Yes," Hari nodded.

"You haven't been doing your work," Akiyama Shotaro said having summoned some papers seemingly out of nowhere making Ryoga look at it curiously. "Why is that?"

"I just…haven't had time," Hari said looking down.

"You know it's important for you to keep training your magic, Echizen-san," Akiyama Yuko said gently.

"Why?" Ryoga asked frowning.

"Well, if magic is left untrained it can turn on you," Akiyama Yuko explained. "Especially if it is strong like it is with your sister. She is magically powerful and that kind of power does need training."

"And you know this, Hari-chan?" Ryoga asked looking at her.

Hari looked at him and saw the serious look in his eyes and nodded. He frowned but didn't say anything.

"I know," Hari said. "I just…I don't like magic."

"Hisakawa said as much," Akiyama Shotaro frowned.

"I have thought about it since I talked with Hisakawa-san," Hari said looking at them. "And…and I do know that I have to keep training my magic. I just…I can't keep up with my muggle school, tennis and my magic school at the same time as this. And I don't want to give up on my muggle school and my friends here. I finally got a place where I can be me."

She looked at them pleadingly.

"We know," Akiyama Yuko said. "And we do understand, Echizen-san. What we propose is that you chose a few subjects and then use one day and one night a week to focus on your magic lessons. We will then put together a course that should get you through the OWLs in those subjects."

"How many subjects?" Hari asked.

"Three at least," Akiyama Shotaro said. "At least for the remaining of the year and then maybe change one of them next year. We can see if you want to take your OWLs when you are 15 or 16."

"I can postpone it?" Hari asked.

"We can make arrangements for that, yes," Akiyama Yuko nodded.

Hari nodded thoughtfully. She knew she turned 14 soon (just a few days actually) and she would then have another year or two to study. She would not be anywhere near where Ron and Hermione were in their magical studies and she would not be as good as them, but she really did not mind. She could not really see herself living in the magical world anyway.

But she did see the need to train her magic, especially with Voldemort out there and coming for her.

"And if you do decide to study more magic later there's no reason why you can't do that even as an adult," Akiyama Shotaro added.

Hari nodded even though she doubted that she would want to it was nice to know that the option was there.

"Ok," Hari said.

"You sure that would be the best?" Ryoga asked. "You won't be too tired like this, Hari-chan?"

"The option is to quit Seigaku, Ryoga-nii," Hari said looking at him. "I don't want that."

He nodded, "ok. And you have talked to Oyaji and Rinko about this, right?"

"They know," Hari said.

"Have you any thoughts about what subjects you would like to take?" Akiyama Yuko asked.

Hari thought about what Hermione had said and how they had gone to Gringotts. It was lucky that they could help her with wards so Hari felt relaxed enough to skip the runes because that would take up too much time because she would have had to start from scratch on that subject. It was not really possible for her.

"I have been thinking about taking Defence Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration and Charms," Hari said. "They have the most used magic spells."

"That's good choices," Akiyama Yuko agreed.

"What electives did you take at Hogwarts?" Akiyama Shotaro asked.

"Care of Magical Creatures and Divination," Hari grimaced. "Divination was just a huge waste of time."

"I never did see the point of that subject myself," Akiyama Yuko agreed.

"You have that here as well?" Hari asked curiously.

"Unfortunately," Akiyama Shotaro nodded.

They talked a little more about the different subjects and discussed the pro and con's they offered for her, but Hari kept in mind what she and Hermione had discussed and without really letting on about her suspicions about Voldemort she fell back on the original choices.

She wasn't sure why she didn't say anything about her suspicion about Voldemort. Well, she wasn't sure how they would react and she surely wasn't going to tell them about the dreams she'd had. Not right away, because she wasn't sure they would believe her and she refused to have them think she was a freak or that she was lying and only tried to get attention.

...

"Are you sure you are okay?" Ryoga asked when the Akiyama's had left.

"I'm fine, Ryoga-nii," Hari smiled but she felt tired and a little on edge.

Ryoga looked at her and she could see that he didn't really believe her and was debating if he should press her or not. He had been quiet, or mostly quiet, during the discussions and Hari was aware that he was trying to figure something out. He was also curious about the magic that they discussed and she knew that it had to be interesting for him.

"Alright," he finally said. "Just know that you can talk to me if you need."

"I know," Hari smiled slightly, and surprising not only herself but him as well, when she threw her arms around him and hugged him. He put his arms around her as well and held her close for a moment. She blushed when she pulled back and shifted uncomfortably on her feet. "Thank you."

"No problem;" he grinned and ruffled her hair. "Weren't you on your way somewhere?"

"Oh!" Hari blinked. "Bugger. I'm late!"

She rushed out of the room ignoring Ryoga's laugh as she did so and waved at Nanjiro who was on his way in as she ran past him.

"Hey, Otou-chan! Bye, Otou-chan!" she yelled.

Ryoga shook his head as a confused Nanjiro entered the living room.

"Where is she going?" Nanjiro asked before he frowned. "She's not meeting her boyfriend is she?"

Ryoga laughed and got up from the sofa. "No, she's meeting her team, I think, and her friends from England."

"Okay," Nanjiro said. "You're going somewhere as well?"

"Tennis lesson," Ryoga nodded. "See you later, Oyaji!"

The walk to the tennis court at the club was not that long and he used it to think about Hari and the meeting that had taken place. There was something else going on, but Ryoga wasn't sure what. There was a new determination in Hari, something that hadn't been there before. It kind of worried him. He couldn't help but think that she was hiding something and that it was something that could be dangerous.

Hm. Maybe he was just being paranoid. Maybe he was imagining things that weren't there, but his gut said that Hari was hiding something.

"Ryoga-sensei!" Minoru greeted excitedly making Ryoga realise that he had reached the club and saw the younger boy bouncing in place in front of him.

"Hello, Minoru-chan," Ryoga said with a small smile and pretended that he didn't see the blush in the boy's cheeks.

"Are you okay, Ryoga-sensei?" Minoru asked suddenly a little shy.

Ryoga looked at him for a moment before he nodded, "I'm fine. Are you ready for your lesson?"

Minoru nodded and grinned.

"Yes, sensei!" Minoru said.

Ryoga sighed, "you know you don't have to call me sensei."

"I know, sensei," Minoru said.

"Fine," Ryoga said. "Well, let's get ready!"

He watched as Minoru got into position and nodded as he took in the improved stance. He had taken large steps in his game.

"What are we doing today, Ryoga-sensei?" Minoru asked turning wide trusting eyes at Ryoga. Ryoga felt a little uncomfortable but pushed it away as he smiled his lazy smile and tossed an orange into the air before catching it again.

"Your serves," Ryoga said.

"Yay!" Minoru cheered.

Ryoga shook his head slightly but started to work. He moved in to correct Minoru's stance a couple of times but other than that the younger boy had a good serve and worked really hard. The look on concentration on his face was something that reminded Ryoga of Hari and her attitude to tennis.

"Good work, Minoru-chan," Ryoga said eventually.

"Thank you," Minoru smiled and looked down shifting on his feet as he pulled at his shirt. He glanced up at Ryoga who met his eyes and arched a brow at the younger boy wondering what he wanted now. "I have a birthday soon."

"I see," Ryoga said. "When?"

"In a week," Minoru said. "I'll be 12 years old, then."

Ryoga nodded, "that's only a few days after Hari-chan, then. Do you have plans for your birthday?"

Minoru looked a little disappointed before he smiled making Ryoga wonder why the boy was disappointed.

"No," Minoru said shaking his head. "Maybe Seiichi-nii and Genichiro will come and celebrate with us. I want to ask Hari-chan too. And…maybe you could come as well?"

Ryoga blinked and looked down at the younger boy.

"I'm not sure," Ryoga said. "Maybe."

Minoru nodded and smiled, "does Hari-chan also have a birthday soon?"

"Yes," Ryoga said. "In two days."

"Oh! I wonder if Seiichi-nii knows," Minoru frowned.

"Who knows," Ryoga shrugged. "Maybe you should mention it to him in case Hari-chan doesn't."

Minoru nodded.

...

"You're late," Fuji commented when she came rushing into the bowling hall.

"I know," Hari gasped. "Sorry."

Fuji shrugged. "It's alright. We're just getting started anyway."

"Why the delay?" Hari asked curiously.

"Inui," Fuji said. "He had some…interesting rules."

Hari blinked and looked around and picked up on the wary expressions on her friends. Ah, that must mean…

"Inui-juice?" she guessed.

"Yes," Fuji nodded. "Your friends are here, as well, you know."

Hari nodded just as Ron and Hermione came toward her.

"There you are, Hari!" Ron said. "Thought you were going to abandon us."

"I sent a text to Ryo-chan," Hari said.

"You did?" Ryoma asked surprised pulling out his phone. "Oh. I see."

Hari rolled her eyes.

"Hari! Hari!" Fred and George said as they came over. "We're going to try bowling!"

Hari laughed, "you think you can manage?"

"It…" Fred said.

"…looks…" George continued.

"…fun!" They finished together.

Hari noticed the curious look from Fuji but he didn't comment and she decided against trying to explain why someone would act like they hadn't even bowled before.

...

"What's with the 'Aozu-juice' that your friend wants us to drink if we lose?" Ron asked eying the blue drink. "And why does everyone act like it's the worst thing ever?"

Hari laughed and shook her head. She noticed the twins looking at her as well and smirked lightly to herself.

"They're just being overdramatic," Hari said dismissively.

"Really?" Ron asked sceptically. "Your friends were really agonized just looking at it."

"They just like being that way," Hari said with a shrug. "If you don't want to drink it then don't lose."

They stared at her and Hari smiled back innocently.

"I don't like that look on your face," Hermione sighed.

Hari just blinked at them.

"We will be in teams of two," Fuji said. "We're on the same team, Hari-chan."

"Great, Shu-chan!" Hari beamed.

"I'm on the same team as Kaido-san," Ron said.

"I'm on the same team as Kawamura," Hermione said and smiled shyly over at the kind boy who smiled back with a small blush in his cheeks.

"Lucky you," Hari grinned. "Kawamura-senpai is very kind."

"You're too nice, Hari-chan," Kawamura blushed.

Hari smiled.

"Let me guess, Ryo-chan is on the same team as Momo-chan," Hari said looking over at her brother.

"Yes!" Momoshiro grinned.

"We're on the same team!" Fred and George declared.

"Big surprise," Hari shook her head. "I see even Oishi-senpai knows not to split you two up."

...

"Thank you for inviting my friends as well, Oishi-senpai," Hari said looking at Oishi.

"Of course, Hari-chan," Oishi smiled kindly. "We're happy to include them. I know you must want to spend time with them while they are here. You must miss your friends."

Hari nodded and smiled at him. She was always surprised by the genuine care from the other boy. He always took note of things she thought no one would notice and the title as a 'mother-hen' suited him very well.

She returned to Fuji who smiled at her and she sat down beside him. They watched as Momoshiro and Ryoma got ready and shook her head as they barely managed to hit the cones.

"You disappeared after the match yesterday," Fuji commented as they watched their friends.

Hari glanced at him and nodded, "Sei-chan came and he had his parents with him, so I had dinner with them."

"I see," Fuji nodded. "We missed you, though."

Hari nodded, "I did want to come with you as well, but…"

"We understand," Fuji said. "So, he's treating you alright?"

Hari blushed but nodded and Fuji smile widened. She tried to ignore the knowing look on his face.

"Look at us, Hari!" Fred cried excitedly as he and George got ready.

Hari laughed, "sure! Good luck!"

"Ah, the ball is heavy," George said surprised. "Huh."

He walked over and had a focused look on his face as he tried to do what he had seen the others do and threw the ball toward the cones. She watched as the ball rolled surprisingly fast toward the cones and actually hit one.

"Yes!" George cheered loudly hitting the air with his fist. "Beat that, Gred!"

"I will, Forge!" Fred said and picked up another ball.

"They do know that they're on the same team, right?" Kachiro asked nervously.

Hari laughed.

"Aw…" Fred frowned when the ball fell into the gutter.

Hari noticed Inui coming toward Fred and felt a flash of worry before excitement took over as she waited to see the effects of the infamous Inui-juice on Fred.

"What's this?" Fred eyed the small shot glass with the blue drink curiously. "That's the juice-thing you all worried about, right?"

"Just drink it," Hari called. "It's not that bad."

She ignored the incredulous looks she got while Fred shrugged and took the shot glass from Inui and drank. He suddenly turned white making his freckles more prominent before he fell flat on his face and the small glass spilt the small remainder of the 'Aozu-juice' on the floor.

"Fred!" George called out worriedly.

"Fred?" Ron asked eying his brother while George rushed over to him.

Hari shook her head and looked over at Inui who pushed his glasses up his nose.

"Haghaahit," Fred muttered.

"You okay?" Ron asked.

"hAnfakn," Fred mumbled.

"I don't think he can continue," Ryuzaki commented.

"He's going to be fine," Hari told them. "That's a normal, if not a little extreme, reaction to the juice."

George and Ron looked at her before George managed to get Fred up in a seat and he looked rather blue in the face. But Hari was confident that he was fine.

...

They continued and one by one they had to drink the juice and it became clear that Fred's reaction was not an uncommon one as even Fuji collapsed after drinking it. Hari grimaced as she realised that maybe she would have the same reaction as well. She sure hoped not.

Ron eyed the juice warily as when Inui came to him with it when he had missed his shot and eyed Hari before accepting it and drank it before collapsing on the floor. The reactions had calmed somewhat as they got used to seeing the drinker collapse.

Finally, Hari was the only one left as the others looked in some state of passed out and awake. She grimaced as she eyed her friends and wondered if she maybe should have gotten Inui to spare them, they weren't a part of the team after all.

But it had been amusing to see their reaction to the juice.

She looked at Kachiro and Mizuno who had been the last pair standing and she knew she had been lucky to win against them. Actually, she wasn't sure how she had not lost before now because she hadn't bowled that much before in her life. She had been with Ryoga a couple of times, though, and he had taught her.

"I forgot to mention," Inui said coming toward her, "the special juice for the winner!"

Hari arched a brow. Shit. She should have realised that he would have had something like this! She noticed the others looked at her with vindictive looks on their faces and she swallowed before she took the glass and drank.

It was…bad. It tasted horrible and she fought the need to pass out by the taste alone and the way it burned down her throat. She wondered what Inui had put in this thing. It was red and not blue like the one the others had drunk.

"Strong;" she grimaced but remained standing.

"Eh?!"

"Again?!"

She looked at them and shrugged, "it was not that bad."

Okay, that was a small lie. It was much worse than anything else she had tasted from Inui but not as bad as some of the potions she'd had.

"How could you possibly remain standing?!" Kikumaru whined. "Maybe that juice wasn't as bad as the one we got?!"

He eyed the red juice and gingerly put a finger in the juice and let a drop of the juice hit his tongue. He instantly flushed and fell back on the floor.

"Eiji!" Oishi cried weakly as he stared at his doubles partner.

Hari shook her head and smiled slightly amused. She wished she had something to drink to make the foul aftertaste go away.

"You really drank that like it was nothing?" Ron asked still looking pale from before.

"It's no worse than some of the potions I've had," Hari said quietly.

He looked at her before he nodded, "I suppose not."

"I wonder if he would share the recipes with us," George commented.

"They would be great in our pranks," Fred nodded in agreement.

Hari chuckled while Ron eyed them incredulously.

"You want to use that?" Ron asked.

"Of course!" the twins said. "It's brilliant!"

Hermione shook her head and grimaced, "I can't let you give that to anyone at school."

"You can't stop us, Hermione!" Fred said.

"This is amazing!" George nodded and both walked over to Inui who blinked at them as they started to ask him rapid questions. Hari wondered if she should interfere or not…

"Great," Hermione said. "Thanks a lot, Hari."

"Eh? What did I do?" she asked.

"You made that possible," Hermione glared. "Now we're going to have students passing out left and right."

"It's not that bad," Hari said.

"Sure," Ron muttered.

...

"I still feel sick," Ron groaned and fell to a chair in a nearby burger place. He did still look a little off colour, Hari noticed. "I don't want to eat."

"You should," Hari said. "It'll help."

"That was awful," Hermione grimaced. "Why did we have to drink that?"

"It's normal punishment for us," Hari shrugged. "It's how Inui motivates us to do our best at practice. The losers have to drink something like that."

Ron and Hermione looked at her and shook their heads. The twins had gone home with Inui in order to learn more. Hari had been a little surprised that Inui had agreed, but he had actually looked a little flattered and she guessed it wasn't often that he was being praised for his juices. She just hoped that the twins didn't go overboard.

"So, why were you late today?" Hermione asked.

Hari looked around before she looked back at them and leaned forward as she told them about the Akiyama's who had shown up and the talks about what magic classes she was going to take. She saw the interest in Hermione's eyes and she nodded in agreement with what Hari told them.

"I do think that Defence, Transfiguration and Charms are the best choices," Hermione nodded. "They will balance each other out."

"At least you don't have to take Potions anymore," Ron grimaced. "I wish I could drop that."

"Ron! It's an important class!" Hermione protested.

"Not with Snape teaching it;" Ron denied. "He's not really teaching us anything. Only that he prefers Slytherin and anything that has any connection to Gryffindor or Hari is scum. A real teacher that."

Hari snorted and nodded in agreement, "I am glad to be rid of it. I don't really know how I would handle Snape now. I know I would not tolerate being bullied by a teacher like that anymore. I do feel sorry for Neville, though. I hope Snape won't take too much of his anger out on him now that I'm not there anymore."

"Neville does get the worst of it after you," Hermione agreed with a small frown. "It isn't fair."

"Nothing at that school is fair," Hari grumbled. "I see how the teachers are at Seigaku and they treat all students with the same respect. They are strict but they don't bully anyone."

Hermione looked at her for a moment before she nodded slowly.

"I wish we could change it," she sighed. "But…"

"With Dumbledore as the headmaster there's no chance for a change," Hari finished. "I don't get why he keeps Snape around. He must see how he treats the students!"

"I know," Ron said looking uncomfortable.

"Maybe we could get Professor Flitwick or Professor McGonagall involved?" Hermione asked.

"Professor Flitwick, maybe," Hari said. "But Professor McGonagall is too close to Dumbledore."

Hermione and Ron exchanged a look, "I don't know…she seems to be angry at Dumbledore now, though. The way she glares at him at times…"

Hari arched a brow, "well, then maybe. I just don't think she's that fair."

"She might be a little coloured in her view of you," Hermione said slowly, "but I think it's mostly because she cared for your parents. You heard how she talked about them before Christmas…when they talked about Sirius."

Hari frowned as she remembered being hidden underneath the table at the Three Broomsticks and heard McGonagall, Flitwick, Hagrid and Fudge talk about Sirius and how he was her godfather. She did remember the fond tone in McGonagall's voice as she talked about her parents.

"Maybe," Hari said quietly. "I'm not sure I think it's a good thing, though."

Hermione nodded and sighed. She seemed to give up trying to convince Hari about McGonagall.

"Well, Professor Sprout might also be an option," Hari said. "She's kind and very motherly."

"Yeah," Hermione agreed.

"Though, they have seen how Snape has treated the students for years and never done anything," Hari said. "So, I'm not sure how much help they would be."

"We should just get the students together and protest," Ron said.

Hari and Hermione stared at him in surprise.

"What?" He said warily.

"That's…a good idea," Hermione said.

"Yeah," Hari nodded.

Ron blinked before his ears went red and he looked away. Hari smiled slightly and shook her head.

"You should do it," Hari said leaning back. "Maybe get the parents involved."

They talked more about how to run Snape out of the school and while it was only in theory and the ideas got wilder and wilder as Ron and Hari got into it while Hermione rolled her eyes but smiled all the same and laughed with them. It was fun and relaxed; it reminded Hari of the time they spent trying to come up with ways to get Malfoy expelled.

...

Hari rolled her eyes as Nanjiro pouted at the breakfast table. She had no idea what he was upset about now but it apparently included her because he kept sending her long looks before he pouted again.

"Thanks for the food, Nanako-chan," Hari said and smiled at the older girl.

"You're welcome, Hari-chan," Nanako smiled kindly. "Have a nice day."

"You too," Hari said and glanced at her father. "…and hope he won't create too much trouble for you."

"Don't worry," Nanako laughed.

Hari nodded and got up from the table and walked over to Nanjiro who blinked at her.

"Don't pout, Otou-chan," Hari said.

"…you are neglecting me!" Nanjiro exclaimed.

"Eh?" Hari looked at him surprised.

"We haven't played in forever!" Nanjiro whined. "Hari-chan is neglecting me."

Hari smiled and shook her head, "we'll play later today, then. Sorry, Otou-chan."

Nanjiro narrowed his eyes at her and she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek knowing that she was blushing all the while but knew that she hadn't really had time to spend time with him lately and she did miss him. She always enjoyed playing with him.

He grinned when she pulled away and hurried out of the kitchen feeling embarrassed and happy at the same time.

"Yeah," Hari said picking up her bag. "Let's go."

He looked at her curiously before he shrugged.

...

Hari arrived at practice with Kaido just in time and took her place beside her friend. He was glaring at Momoshiro who was making a spectacle of himself like normal. Oishi called for attention and told the non-regulars that they would use courts C and D for their practice and would be doing a free practice today while the regulars would be using courts A and B.

Ryuzaki seemed to be missing but that didn't necessarily mean anything. Hari arched a brow when Oishi called in a new member and blinked when a boy looking remarkably like Ryoma entered the court. He even had the same caps on.

"Eh? There's another Ochibi," Kikumaru commented looking from Ryoma to the new boy.

"Twin brother?" Momoshiro asked.

Hari snorted while Ryoma denied there being anyone like that.

"Nice to meet you, desu!" the boy said as he bowed politely.

Desu? Hari thought. That was a strange thing to say…but hadn't she heard that before?

The boy straightened and she blinked. That was…

"I'm Dan Taiichi, a freshman from Yamabuki Junior High," Dan said.

Hari smiled while the others exclaimed shocked and Ryoma's eyes widened as he realised who the boy was. So, he was here to check out Ryoma. She was sure of it. She had seen the interest the other boy had for Ryoma. At least in the tennis abilities that Ryoma showed. They were similar in height so maybe Dan wished to learn more of how Ryoma became a strong tennis player.

This would be interesting.

...

"He's staring," Ryoma muttered.

"Why don't you talk to him?" Hari asked.

"It's bothersome," Ryoma yawned. "Besides…I don't know what to say. He's staring."

"He's admiring you," Hari grinned. "I guess he's your fan."

Ryoma grimaced, "he should just focus on his own tennis."

"He's trying to find his tennis," Hari pointed out. "And he wouldn't be the first to look to you in order to find it. I did that as well."

Ryoma looked at her before he sighed and nodded. "Guess so."

"Come on," Hari said. "Let's play."

Ryoma smiled and grabbed his racket. It had been a while since the two of them had played. Hari already had her racket but she left to the other side of the net and watched as Ryoma got ready to serve.

...

Dan couldn't believe that he was really here. He was watching his idol playing tennis with his sister. It was amazing. If only Akutsu could see him now! It would be the icing of the cake! He couldn't look away from Ryoma and Hari playing and laughing and generally having fun. It didn't even look like a practice, it just looked like they were having fun playing tennis.

He couldn't regret begging Banda to be allowed to come here and take part in their practice. Dan knew that this was what he needed in order to get stronger. To see how this team, to see how Ryoma practised and played tennis.

"Thank you!" Dan said out loud to no one in particular but he gained the attention to the other freshmen that were nearby collecting stray balls.

"For what?" Horio asked.

"Allowing me to see this," Dan said.

"Ryoma-kun and Hari-chan play, you mean?" Kachiro asked following Dan's eyes.

"Yes," Dan nodded.

"They do that a lot," Mizuno said. "Though, it has been a little while since the last time now."

"They look like they have fun," Dan commented awed.

"They are," Fuji said coming up and having heard the last comment.

Dan smiled clasping his hands together.

"Amazing, desu," Dan said.

Fuji smiled as he looked at Dan and then over at the siblings playing tennis.

"You're here to see Echizen?" Fuji asked curiously.

"Mm!" Dan nodded. "Akutsu-senpai told me that he was someone I should look to if I want to play tennis!"

Dan looked at Fuji whose eyes opened and looked at him sharply before they closed again making Dan wonder if it had happened at all. Dan swallowed suddenly nervous as he wondered what the other boy reacted to.

"I see," Fuji said calmly before he walked away and over to Oishi who was talking with Kikumaru.

Horio, Kachiro and Mizuno all let out a sigh of relief when Fuji left and Dan looked over at them curiously.

"Don't mention that guy to anyone on our team, okay?" Horio said looking rather pale.

Dan blinked, "Akutsu-senpai?"

"Shh!" Horio yelped and rushed forward to put a hand over Dan's mouth. "Don't say it that loudly!"

Dan felt confused. Why shouldn't he..?

"Mmanfh," Dan's words were muted against Horio's hand.

Horio pulled back looking around nervously like he expected someone to come to jump up behind them or something.

"It's just…he threatened Hari-chan, and hurt Ryoma-kun," Kachiro said quietly making Dan frown. "The others are very…sensitive when it comes to him and don't like hearing his name. It's best if they don't hear it."

Dan nodded slowly but still felt confused.

...

Hari glanced over at Dan who was talking with the other freshmen and looked like he was blushing and fretting over something. They were waiting to see if anyone would challenge the regulars for a game. It was a tradition that a previous Captain had started and Hari thought it was a good idea.

"I'll challenge Hari-chan," Nagayama called out and Hari looked over at her friend who smirked at her.

"You ready to lose then, Naga-chan?" Hari asked.

He laughed, "We'll see."

"Anyone else?" Oishi called out.

There was a moment of silence before Horio spoke up.

"Over here, Oishi-Captain!" Horio called out raising his hand.

"Horio-kun, huh?" Oishi said looking at him.

"Not me," Horio said and pointed at Dan. "But he wants to challenge Echizen."

Hari smiled slightly as Dan blushed and pulled the caps further down in an effort to hide his face.

"Me?" Ryoma asked beside her.

"Since you're practising with us today, I guess it's okay," Oishi said kindly.

"Interesting," Hari said.

"We'll cheer for you, Dan-kun!" Kachiro said.

"Thank you," Dan said seemingly finding some confidence before looking over at Ryoma. "But, is that okay for you, Echizen-kun?"

"Doesn't matter to me," Ryoma said coolly while Hari rolled her eyes at her brother and his attempt to be cool.

...

Hari finished her match with Nagayama rather fast but it was fun. He had injured his knee not that long ago so she could tell that he wasn't completely back to where he had been yet. But that didn't mean that she took it easy on him.

"Nice match, Hari-chan," he said.

"You too, Naga-chan," she said.

"Why do you call me that," he complained.

"Why?" Hari grinned at him. "Why not?"

"I guess you can," he sighed before he smiled slightly. "How is it having your friends here?"

"It's great," Hari said. "Have you met them?"

"Briefly," Nagayama nodded. "Those twins really do love a laugh."

"You have no idea," Hari rolled her eyes before laughing and they walked over to the court where Ryoma was playing Dan.

"Echizen is so cruel!" Horio said just as Hari and Nagayama came over.

"Eh?" Hari blinked. "Why?"

"He returned Dan's twist serves so nonchalantly!" Horio exclaimed.

"So?" Hari blinked again. "It's a part of the game, that."

"But…"

Hari shrugged as she looked at her brother who got ready to serve. He looked determined and got ready to do his twist serve. She saw the look on his face and smiled.

"So Dan-chan can do the twist serve as well?" Hari asked glancing at Momoshiro who was there as well.

"Yes," Momoshiro nodded. "He got two past Echizen before he returned the rest."

"Mean," Horio mumbled.

Hari ignored him and arched a brow as she looked over at Dan. She saw that he did look a little deflated but she could also see the determination in him.

"Interesting," she said.

...

It was a pretty one-sided match from then on out, but Hari felt impressed as she watched Dan play his best and even got some of Ryoma's moves. It was clear that he had been working very hard on it. Hari frowned when Dan just stood there and let Ryoma's ball past him without even trying to return it. She glanced at Ryoma and saw that he too had noticed and looked a little concerned but didn't say anything.

"Dan-kun…" Kachiro said worriedly.

"Don't give up!" Mizuno said clutching the fence.

Hari bit her lower lip and walked out onto the court and made her way over to Dan. She glanced up at the third year that was playing referee and he nodded at her to let her know that he would wait to start the game again.

"Dan-chan," Hari said gently and he looked up at her startled.

"Eh? Echizen?" Dan said.

"Call me Hari," Hari smiled at him kindly. "Are you okay?"

"Oh, um," he blushed and looked down. "I'm fine."

Hari looked at him for a moment. "I know it's not normal to pause a match like this, but since it's during practise I think it's alright. So, Dan-chan, why don't you tell me the truth? What's wrong? You've been doing alright."

He looked at her surprised and she saw his eyes widen as he stared at her.

"But…I am so far behind!" Dan said almost desperately. "I have been working so hard and I can't catch up, desu!"

Hari nodded slowly, it was what she had thought. She glanced over at Ryoma before looking at Dan again and placed a hand on his shoulder making him look at her again.

"You have just started playing tennis, right?" Hari asked.

"Yes," Dan nodded. "I was only a manager before."

"And you've already managed to do two of Ryoma's moves," Hari said. "That's impressive."

"But…"

"Hey," Hari interrupted. "Do you think that just weeks of training will make up for years of it?"

"No," Dan said slowly.

"Ryo-chan has spent years playing tennis," Hari said. "It's good to have a goal and wanting to be as good as someone, but you can't expect that you can reach him that easily. Tennis is hard work, Dan-chan. Use this opportunity to see how far behind you are and learn from it, use it in your training."

"Okay;" Dan nodded and smiled slightly.

"Good," Hari smiled back and patted his head.

...

"Softy," Momoshiro said when Hari came back to his side.

"Can't help it;" Hari shrugged. "He looks like Ryo-chan."

Momoshiro laughed.

They watched as Dan fought harder than before against Ryoma who still was winning, but the effort Dan put in made Hari smile.

"Finally showing us his true form," Momoshiro said when Dan threw himself forward in an effort to reach the ball.

"Yes," Hari nodded while Horio, Kachiro and Mizuno looked at them confused. Nagayama smiled slightly as he nodded as well.

"Ah, it's over already?" Dan asked when the referee called match point.

"He didn't notice it was over?" Horio asked incredulously.

"That's how focused he was," Momoshiro commented. "You all should have guts like that."

Hari nodded in agreement but didn't look away from Ryoma and Dan shaking hands and Ryoma smiling slightly as he looked at Dan.

"You're Mada Mada…" Ryoma said and didn't finish with saying 'dane' like normal. "But the end was pretty good."

"Yes, desu!" Dan said looking excited and Hari smiled softly.

...

Hari walked with Dan out of the school and saw their coach standing by the gates.

"Banda-sensei!" Dan yelled and ran toward the older man.

"So? How was it?" Banda asked.

"It was great!" Dan said excitedly.

"You learn a lot?" Banda asked.

"Yes, desu!" Dan nodded.

Hari shook her head and blinked when the older man looked over Dan's head and over at her.

"Ah, Hari-chan," he said. "You still won't transfer over to our school?"

"No," Hari said. "Thank you for the offer, though."

"Hari-chan helped me!" Dan said.

"She did, huh?" Banda said. "Well, thank you."

"No problem," Hari shrugged. "He is a pretty interesting player and I look forward to seeing how far he can go."

Dan smiled proudly.

"You're ready for your next match, Hari-chan?" Banda asked. "You're playing against Rokkaku in the semi-finals."

Hari nodded and smiled, "yeah, we're playing against Jiro-kun and his team."

"Ah, you know them already?" Banda asked curiously.

"Yes, Jiro-kun has taught me a little about tennis," Hari nodded.

"Jiro-kun?" Dan asked confused.

"Saeki Kojiro," Hari said. "He's the Vice-Captain of Rokkaku."

"Oh," Dan said.

Banda looked at her curiously and Hari wished he would stop. He always looked at her like that.

"I'm sorry, but I have to go," Hari said politely. "Otou-chan is waiting for us to play tennis."

"You're playing even more today?" Dan asked surprised.

"Yeah," Hari nodded with a fond smile. "I promised Otou-chan because it's been a while since we played."

"That brat still only thinks about tennis, huh," Banda commented.

Hari shrugged, "well, bye! See you later, Dan-chan, Banda-sensei."

"Bye!" Dan said waving as Hari walked away toward her home. Her mind already on the upcoming match with Nanjiro. She wondered if she had gotten any better. Maybe she would get a ball past him today? She smiled.

 **...**

 **...**

 **AN:** **What do you think? XD**

 **Hope you liked it! It turned out mostly fillerish but also felt it was necessary :) A lot of bonding going on in this chapter XD**

 **I had planned on having this chapter up at the beginning of last week, but have had a migraine almost all week so there hasn't been a lot of opportunities where I have felt coherent or well enough to write, edit or post anything. But now I finally have a new chapter ready for you! :)**

 **Thank you for your patience and for the support! XD**


	47. Birthday and goodbye?

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Prince of Tennis!**

 **...**

 **...**

 _Hari ran._

 _She ran and ran but the swishing noises of the large snake coming after her came closer and closer and she could practically feel its breathing at the back of her neck but she didn't dare look behind. She knew if she looked behind she would die._

 _And she couldn't die._

 _Not yet._

 _So she ran. She turned a corner in the sewer and found herself back at the large chamber and saw the handsome form of young Tom Riddle standing there relaxed and almost pleasantly. Like he was just waiting for his dinner date or something._

" _Ah, you're back," he said. "Don't worry. The basilisk will be here soon."_

 _Hari glared but no words came out and she tripped and suddenly it was like she couldn't move. The basilisk was right there coming closer._

 _Riddle laughed and it echoed around the chamber making it sound like there was a hundred Riddle's laughing._

" _Why didn't you save me, Hari?" Ginny asked her pale skin even paler and eyes filled with accusation and hate. "You're supposed to save me! You're the Girl-Who-Lived!"_

" _I…I did…I saved you!" Hari protested._

" _Liar! Coward!" Ginny accused._

" _No…" Hari tried to say but her words clogged in her throat and it felt thick and almost blocked making it impossible for her to say anything._

" _You were supposed to set me free," Sirius' voice suddenly sounded. "You're a failure, Hari. Your parents would be so ashamed of you."_

 _Hari's eyes widened. What was Sirius doing there? He shouldn't be there… the basilisk hissed in the background but for some reason didn't come closer and all the while Riddle laughed._

" _I sat in Azkaban for twelve years because of you!" Sirius said. "Twelve years! For a weak little girl who runs away from her life!"_

 _Nononono…this wasn't right…_

" _What would James and Lily say about you running away, Hari?" Sirius challenged. "They would hate…"_

" _No!" Hari managed to choke out. "NO!"_

 _Sirius vanished and Ginny was there again and looking at her with pained eyes and blood was flowing from her mouth and from her head._

" _You were supposed to save me….why didn't you save me, Hari…you're supposed to save us all…"_

" _Why didn't you save my sister?" Ron cried angrily. "You let her die!"_

" _How could you, Hari!" Hermione looked so disappointed._

 _Hari's eyes filled with tears and she tried to break free from whatever was holding her down but nothing could get her out of it and she watched as Ginny collapsed and then Riddle stepped forward and smirked at her. Ron and Hermione disappeared._

" _You're going to lose, Hari Potter…" he said. "It doesn't matter where you hide… I will always find you. You're going to lose, Hari Potter."_

 _The basilisk lunged…_

 _..._

…Hari jerked awake and sat up breathing rapidly and erratically with the images from the nightmare still flashing in front of her eyes. She couldn't get them away and Ginny's pale face and blood…all the blood…and Sirius… She shuddered and pulled her legs up to her chest hugging them close as she tried to calm down. It was just a dream. It had to be just a dream. A very bad dream, but a dream all the same.

Right?

But it had felt so real. She inhaled and closed her eyes and for the first time noticed the tears in her eyes and the wet streaks on her cheeks. She rubbed it away with the back of her hand and sniffled slightly.

"Hari?"

Hari's head snapped to the door (she hadn't noticed the door opening) and saw Ryoga standing there with a concerned look on his face.

"Oh, Ryoga-nii," she said and looked away wiping at her eyes more forcefully not wanting him to see her cry.

"What's wrong?" Ryoga asked stepping into the room and Hari kind of wanted to tell him to leave but she swallowed the words back.

"Nothing," she said unconvincingly.

Ryoga was silent for a moment before he sat down at the edge of her bed and watched her with eyes that were so much alike Ryoma's. She glanced at him before looking away again not wanting to see the worry in his eyes. She didn't feel like she deserved that right now.

"I could hear you from downstairs," Ryoga said. "I was already awake, but…"

"I'm sorry," Hari said.

"No need to be sorry," Ryoga said, "but I would like to know what made you sound so scared."

Hari frowned but refused to say anything. Ryoga had seen and heard too much lately. She shouldn't have allowed him to be there when she talked to the Akiyama's. She had seen the looks he had given her like he was trying to figure something out.

He couldn't figure it out.

If he did, then he would be in danger…

"Fine," Ryoga finally sighed. "Just…don't keep everything to yourself, Hari. You do have a family that cares for you now. Alright?"

Hari looked up at him and felt tears in her eyes. The care and worry in his voice and eyes were almost too much. She swallowed painfully past the lump that had suddenly formed in her throat and nodded.

"I know," she whispered. "Thanks, nii-san."

He smiled almost sadly and reached out to ruffle her hair and got up. He walked to the door before he turned and smiled his crooked smile at her and some light was back in his eyes again.

"Oh, and happy birthday, Hari-chan," he said before slipping out of the room again.

Hari blinked. Right, it was her birthday.

What a way to start her 14th birthday. She sighed as she flopped back on the bed and stared up at the ceiling with empty eyes.

...

Hari moved in what felt like slow motion and finished breakfast and watched as Nanako did the dishes (refusing Hari to help) and heard Ryoma and Nanjiro bicker while Rinko was reading some papers looking to be almost ready to go off to work.

Ryoga was also there looking like he was amused by watching his brother and father but Hari felt his eyes on her as well from time to time so she knew he was keeping an eye on her too. She really didn't want him to worry about her.

But what was more…no one had mentioned her birthday. She wasn't sure what to think about that. Had they forgotten? But Ryoga hadn't, but he didn't say anything now… She looked around at her family and wondered if they really didn't care about her birthday. Did they not remember? Maybe she should…no. She wasn't going to say anything.

"I'm going to go out," Hari said abruptly and stood up making the chair scrape against the floor.

"Oh, alright," Rinko said. "Are you meeting your friends?"

Hari nodded even if she wasn't sure. She wondered if they remembered…

"Okay," Rinko smiled at her and Hari just nodded in return and left the room and picked up her tennis racket just in case as she left the house.

She moved through the streets and wondered if she should make her way toward the apartment where Ron and Hermione stayed. But did she want to see them now? Hermione would see right away that she was upset.

Wait. Was she upset? Why? Hari paused and blinked. Why was she upset? It wasn't that she really cared about her birthday because she was used to it being forgotten or ignored. She never did anything on her birthday and her aunt and uncle had (at best) only given her a coat hanger or a pair of aunt Petunia's old socks. So, it wasn't that she….Oh.

Oh. She had thought that it would be different now that she lived with Nanjiro and Rinko. They were caring and both cared for her so she had thought… Hari felt tears press behind her eyes again and she closed her eyes while her hands clenched tightly into a fist.

It hurt that they forgot or didn't mention it. Not because she wanted to have a great fuss, but because she had thought they would at least acknowledge that it was her birthday. That they were happy that she was born…

"Idiot," Hari muttered to herself. What a thing to get upset about. They were busy and she was upset because they had forgotten her birthday. She should just be grateful that they had taken her in and that they allowed her to be a part of their family. In any way they permitted.

...

"Hari!"

Hari looked up and saw Ron and Hermione coming toward her and she spotted Bill and Charlie behind them again. She forced her face to relax and smile as she waved at them.

"Hey!" Hari smiled.

"What are you doing here on your own?" Ron asked looking around the empty park.

Hari shrugged, "thinking."

True, she had been thinking. About the fact that they had forgotten her birthday and the fact that she'd had another dream that was somehow connected to Voldemort. She had, in an effort to not think about her birthday, gone back over her nightmare and realised that the ending of it was strange. But there was no way that Voldemort had actually been in her dream, right? That he had actually told her that she couldn't hide and that she was going to lose? That was only her fear speaking, right?

It had to be…

"-ri? Earth to Hari!" Hermione called and her hand waved in front of Hari's face.

"Ah, sorry," Hari smiled sheepishly.

"No worries," Hermione said but looked a little worried. "Ryoga said you had gone out a couple of hours ago. He thought you had gone to meet us."

"Right," Hari nodded. "I was going to but got distracted."

"What…" Ron started but Hari turned to greet Bill and Charlie.

"Hey, Bill, Charlie," Hari waved. "How are you?"

"We're fine;" Bill smiled. "And you? Happy birthday, by the way."

"Oh! Happy birthday, Hari!" Hermione gasped. "We got side-tracked!"

"Happy birthday, Hari," Ron and Charlie said together.

Hari smiled but pushed the conflicting emotions away as she accepted the hug from Hermione before Ron hugged her as well.

"Happy…"

"…birthday…"

"Hari!" Fred and George said beaming before squeezing her in a hug between the two of them making her laugh.

"Thanks, guys," Hari said.

"So, what does the birthday girl wish for today?" George grinned.

...

Hari had fun going around Tokyo with her friends and visiting popular tourist spots that she hadn't really gone to before. It was fun, but at the same time, it was a little sad because she knew that they would leave the next day.

"I don't want you to leave," Hari admitted when they were at Tokyo Tower.

"We don't want to either," Hermione said. "I wish we could stay longer, but…"

"Your parents would want you back home now," Hari said.

"Mum and dad are asking what takes so long," Ron nodded and glanced over at Bill who was talking with Charlie. "We did use Bill's job as an excuse and he can only prolong it for so long."

"I know," Hari nodded. "But at least I got to see you."

"Yeah," Hermione smiled. "And we got to see that you are safe and happy."

Hari felt a flash of guilt for having made them worry but pushed it way like she did with so much lately.

"I wish there was some way for us to talk," Hari said. "To stay in touch without using Hedwig. The flight is too long for her to make regularly and she stands out too much."

Ron and Hermione both nodded but didn't say anything and Hari missed the look they exchanged.

"Where too next?" Charlie asked coming up to them.

"I want to go to the beach," Ron said.

Hari blinked and looked at him incredulously.

"The beach?" she asked.

"Yes," he nodded.

"Why?" Hari asked confused.

"Why not?" Ron asked and she noticed that his ears started to turn a little red and she looked at Hermione but the other girl just nodded and smiled.

"Sounds good to me," she said.

Hari sighed but nodded, "alright. If that's what you want."

She noticed the almost triumphant look they exchanged and tilted her head as she watched them curiously. What was up with them now?

...

Ryoma sighed.

"We're sorry!" Horio, Kachiro and Mizuno cried looking equally depressed and upset.

"It was an accident," Oishi said kindly but he did look a little worried. "You didn't lose the coupon on purpose."

"I can't believe we lost it!" Horio said. "And today of all days!"

Ryoma rubbed his forehead as he wondered what they would do now. They had all arrived at the beach and were going to get the preparations ready before Ron and Hermione brought Hari here for a surprise birthday party. Kawamura had gotten a coupon from his father to use at a restaurant here on the beach and they would get the free food and location for a great party, but now the coupon was lost and Ryoma knew they couldn't pay for it any other way.

He sighed. Again.

"What about you work at my store to earn the money you need for the restaurant?" a voice said from behind them.

They turned around and Ryoma froze while his eyes widened in horrified shock. His father, his stupid Oyaji, was standing there covered in bandages and watched them with a (creepy) smile.

"Um, eh," Oishi blinked.

"I heard you lost something," Nanjiro (not that the others had recognised him yet) said. "And I have an offer for you. You can work a couple of hours at my café and earn the money you need."

Ryoma wanted to bury himself in the sand. This was not happening… He could not be here with his Oyaji standing there looking like that with his friends right there… There was no way…He glared at his father who smirked behind the bandages. Why was he covered in bandages? Why… Ryoma sighed. Yes, again. He barely heard the other discuss the option but in the end, they agreed and Ryoma resigned himself to help.

Who knew that Nanjiro was helping around at a café at the beach at all?

The café was busy and it was chaotic.

Ryoma sold ice crème with Horio, Kachiro and Mizuno. They all called out in order for people to stop and buy while Sakuno and Tomoka served the tables together with Fuji and Kaido. Kaido scared the poor customers, though, with his fierce look.

He couldn't believe that Nanjiro had actually managed to con them into doing his work… He turned and saw him looking relaxed and happy gazing out at the beach and Ryoma didn't need to be told what he was looking at.

"I'll be right back," Ryoma said and walked away without waiting for a response and glared at Nanjiro who blinked at him. Ryoma grabbed his arm and pulled him into the alley behind the store.

"What are you doing here?" Ryoma glared. "I thought you were going to show up later."

Nanjiro laughed as he sat down at a box.

"Coincidence happens," Nanjiro shrugged.

"This is why you have been away from the house lately?" Ryoma asked.

"Well, you and Hari-chan are busy all the time," Nanjiro pouted. "And a friend needed help with his store so I have been helping out a little bit. Not that much, though…and there are a lot of bikini-clad women around too!"

Nanjiro grinned while Ryoma groaned.

"Why did you cover your face with the bandage? You didn't have that on this morning," Ryoma said deciding to not comment on the bikini-clad women part. It was best for his own sanity.

"I didn't want to be recognised," Nanjiro said. "And I'll see if any of the boys are looking at Hari-chan wrong…"

Ryoma shook his head, "you know they will figure out that it's you. I can't believe they haven't already…"

"Oi! Don't look that horrified by that, Ryoma!" Nanjiro cried dramatically.

"They can't know that you're my dad," Ryoma deadpanned. "I can't believe you actually did this…"

"Why?" Nanjiro demanded.

"You're so embarrassing!" Ryoma groaned. "Why are you so embarrassing? Why can't you be…I don't know…normal?!"

Nanjiro pouted, "you're so mean, brat."

"Stupid Oyaji!" Ryoma shot back and glared.

The two glared at each other until the door opened and Kachiro and Horio stood there looking at them uncertainly.

"Um…" they said and Ryoma almost groaned again.

"What?" Nanjiro asked carelessly with an easy grin.

"Can you come inside for a second?" Kachiro asked. "There's a little problem…"

...

The little problem turned out to be a rather big problem and Ryoma again wondered who was crazy enough to leave Nanjiro in charge of anything even if it was only for a few days. As it turned out Nanjiro had forgotten to order more food and now the fridge were empty.

Just great.

Customers were complaining and Oishi and Fuji had enough with trying to calm them down and apologize while Momoshiro and Kaido were arguing loudly taking their stress and frustration out on each other like they normally did.

Ryoma stared at the empty fridge from beside Kikumaru who was looking worriedly at the same fridge. Nanjiro was silent for a moment.

"Stupid," Ryoma sighed.

"Oi, brat!" Nanjiro said.

"What? I can't believe you forgot to restock the supplies," Ryoma shrugged.

"Oi, Ryoma-kun," Kachiro said worriedly. "Maybe you shouldn't…"

Ryoma glanced at him before he yawned. "I don't really care about all this and the café. We were supposed to prepare for Hari's birthday not be doing this."

The others shifted on their feet.

"Right," Momoshiro nodded and looked away from Kaido breaking their glaring contest. "What are we going to do now?"

Fuji looked pensive as he looked from Ryoma and over at Nanjiro before he smiled slightly.

"I don't think Hari-chan will care if we're at that restaurant or not," he finally said. "We can easily have a great time on the beach and ordering food from a cheaper place or something. If we all put our money in I'm sure we can make it."

"Yes, nya!" Kikumaru cheered looking cheerful again. "Hari-chan will like that!"

Nanjiro smiled slightly and turned his back at them before he frowned slightly at the empty fridge. He sighed and shook his head.

"I will still pay you, brats," he said before walking toward the customers and started to apologize for not being able to serve them.

"Really?" Horio stared after him while Ryoma shook his head and sighed.

...

Hari looked at Hermione who was talking with Ron about something and frowned. They were hiding something. She was sure of it. They kept glancing at the clock and had insisted on going to the beach in Chiba of all places and she wasn't even sure how they had heard of that beach in the first place. They wouldn't say so she had resigned herself to just follow and allow them to set the pace.

"You alright?" Bill asked looking at his brother's best friend.

"Sure," Hari said glancing at him and then over at Charlie before she smiled slightly. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" Charlie asked confused. "What for?"

"You must have better things to do during your vacation than to tag along with your brothers to find me," Hari said.

"Nah," Charlie smiled easily. "It's been a fun trip."

"I always wanted to see Japan," Bill added.

Hari looked at them and they seemed sincere but she was still a little worried. She hadn't seen them too much and according to Ron, they had been travelling around a little to explore the country while their brothers (and Hermione) had spent time with her.

"Still," Hari said.

"And we did want to meet you," Charlie said smiling at her. "Do you know how long we've been hearing about you? Ron's been talking about you in his letters, few and random they might be, for years."

"Fred and George too," Bill nodded.

Hari blinked at them a little surprised. They hadn't wanted to meet her because of her status as the Girl-Who-Lived? But because their brothers had talked about her? She wasn't used to that. Normally people immediately thought about her as the hero or the girl who had saved them from Voldemort. Only seeing that part of her and not just a part that was a normal girl and a friend like any other girl could be.

"Huh," she said but smiled a little.

"So, tell me," Charlie said with a smile that seemed a little too understanding but Hari pretended that she didn't notice that as she looked at him. "Are you really that good at Quidditch as Ron and the twins said you are?"

"Of course!" Hari grinned back. "I heard you also played seeker back at Hogwarts."

He nodded happily and they continued to discuss the game as the train ride continued and Bill joined in now and then. Hari didn't notice the warm eyes from Ron and Hermione as they had finished their conversation and was now watching her talk with the elder Weasley's.

...

"Okay, where are we going?" Hari asked trailing after Hermione who was looking for something.

"You'll see soon enough," Ron smirked at her while Hari rolled her eyes.

"I want to find Jiro-kun," Hari sighed. "Since we're here, I mean."

"Yukimura would be okay with you finding him?" Hermione asked looking over her shoulder at Hari who suddenly frowned. She remembered how Seiichi had reacted last time and grimaced.

"Hm, I don't know," Hari said. "But I won't stop being friends with Jiro-kun because of Sei-chan. Sei-chan knows that Jiro-kun is only a friend, though."

Hermione nodded, "you can call him later."

Hari sighed and looked around the beach and tried to remember if she had ever been on a beach before. She didn't think so. Her eyes lingered on the ocean and the vastness of it. She swallowed as she wanted to have fun in it, but…

"Come on, Hari," Ron said and she realised that she had lagged behind and she probably didn't want to get lost today so she hurried up to catch up to them.

They came closer to a large tent (though the walls were missing) and she froze when she recognised the people standing there with a large banner hung above them:

 _HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HARI-CHAN!_

What…? She blinked but they were still there and they were all grinning and cheering as they waved at her. It wasn't even only her team, but her family and even Seiichi and his team and Saeki and the rest of Rokkaku… and was that Keigo and his team as well? Everyone…

Hari wasn't sure how long she stood there frozen but then Hermione was beside her and pushed her gently in order to get her moving again.

"Come on," Hermione said smiling. "Go and greet your friends, Hari."

Hari glanced at her and she could tell that Hermione understood making Hari smile at her and blink away tears (stubborn tears that refused to go away).

Hari walked (almost ran) the last few meters to the tent and was immediately surrounded by the people that had become her friends here.

"Happy birthday, Hari-chan!"

"Happy birthday!"

"Are you surprised?!"

"Surprise!"

Hari laughed and smiled as she hugged them or accepted a pat on the shoulder or smiles. She didn't really care about the tears in her eyes (they didn't fall yet) anymore. She pulled back from hugging Keigo who smiled his confident smile and ruffled her hair making her swat his hand away and mock glare at him before moving over to his parents who both smiled at her. She hadn't seen them much since meeting them but she was glad they were there.

"Happy birthday, Hari-chan," Atobe Yukiko smiled. "Lily would be so proud of you."

"Thank you," Hari smiled shyly.

"James would too," Atobe Jurou added. "Happy birthday, Hari."

"Thanks," she smiled.

"You have to come over for dinner soon, okay?" Yukiko said.

"Okay," Hari nodded. "I would like that."

"Keigo tells us you have a boyfriend?" Jurou arched a brow as he looked at her and Hari knew she was blushing.

"Um, yeah," Hari nodded.

"Invite him over too when you come, alright?" Jurou said. "I would like to meet him properly."

Hari wasn't sure what to say so she just nodded and promised she would try.

She moved again and realised that she was in front of Rinko and Nanjiro now and blinked when she saw the bandages on Nanjiro's face.

"Do I even want to know?" She asked Ryoma who was standing close by and was glaring.

"No," Ryoma said.

"Eh?" Kikumaru said. "You know him, Hari-chan?"

Hari realised that they hadn't recognised him and she snorted as she looked at Ryoma who looked resigned.

"Stupid Oyaji," Ryoma muttered.

"I'm afraid so," Hari said with a longsuffering sigh. "Otou-chan has a way of making everything embarrassing."

"Otou-chan?!" Momoshiro, Kachiro, Horio, Mizuno and Kikumaru exclaimed while the others looked a little surprised. Though, she did notice Fuji smiling like he had already guessed as much. /p

"Yo!" Nanjiro grinned and removed the bandages.

"Idiot," Ryoga snorted from the side. "Poor Ryoma and Hari-chan…"

"Happy birthday, Hari-chan," Nanjiro said hugging her tightly.

"Happy birthday, dear," Rinko smiled warmly and hugged her when Nanjiro let her go and Hari felt a little stupid for thinking that they had forgotten her birthday.

"Thank you;" she whispered blushing slightly. "I…"

"Ryoma and your friends thought it would be nice to surprise you," Rinko said warmly. "And this time is perfect for a day on the beach."

Hari grinned and nodded.

Hari wasn't sure how she had ended up with Seiichi last but he had stayed back and allowed her to greet the others first and she had been aware of him watching her and smiling softly as he did. She wondered what he was thinking but she knew better than to ask.

"Happy birthday," he said when she stopped in front of him and she smiled at him.

"Thank you," she said.

"You know…" Seiichi said pulling her closer and she felt his hand on her waist. "It's normal for a boyfriend to know when his girlfriend's birthday is."

Hari blinked, "I didn't tell you?"

"No," Seiichi said gently, "you didn't."

"Oh," Hari said realising that she hadn't. "I…"

"Any reason for that?" he asked never looking away from her.

"Um, no," she said looking down and missing the frown on his face but he let it go for now as he reached up and cupped her face with one hand before pushing her hair out of her face again and smiling at her.

"Hm," he said. "Well, let's enjoy your party, eh?"

"Yes," Hari smiled and grabbed his hand in hers and turned back to the others and noticed that Fred and George were already having fun and laughing as they looked at Marui who was on the ground clutching his stomach. "Oh boy…"

Seiichi shook his head and Hari saw Nio bending over laughing hard as he clutched his stomach as well but obviously of a different reason that his teammate.

"The twins are on the loose," Hari muttered.

"They're funny," Seiichi commented.

Hari glanced at him and was relieved to see that he wasn't upset that the twins had pulled a prank on one of his teammates.

...

"Let's play volleyball!" Nanjiro called. "Hari-chan and Ryoma! You will challenge others and win us money!"

"No way!" Hari protested.

"O-oi…" Nanjiro stilled as he saw her and scowled. "What are you wearing?"

Hari stared at him not surprised at all that he seemed to be reacting to her change of clothes. She had changed into a bikini, though she had pulled a pair of shorts over her bikini bottom, that Rinko had given her.

"Cover up! Cover up!" Nanjiro said.

"We're on a beach, Otou-chan," Hari rolled her eyes. "So, stop acting like a fool."

He pouted and scowled at the nearest boy who happened to be Horio who yelped and scurried off. Hari shook her head.

"Stop scaring everyone, Otou-chan," she said tiredly. "And I'm not going to play volleyball."

She didn't want to at the moment. Nanjiro pouted more but pulled Ryoma away from his conversation with Aoi who seemed to be trying to challenge him in a tennis match.

"You two!" Nanjiro said and Aoi blinked.

"Me?"

"Yes! You and Ryoma will take on challengers in volleyball!" Nanjiro declared and pulled them both to the nearby volleyball court on the beach.

"Your dad is a force to be reckoned with," Saeki smiled stepping up to them.

"Jiro-kun!" Hari grinned but didn't hug him because Seiichi was right there and she didn't want to upset him again. "You're here too. I'm glad."

Saeki smiled and nodded, "Shusuke called and invited us."

"I'm glad he did," Hari said. "How are you?"

"I'm fine," Saeki smiled. "Can't wait until our match, though."

"Tomorrow's the day," Hari grinned back. "We'll beat you!"

Saeki laughed and shook his head, "we'll see. Nice seeing you again too, Yukimura-san."

"You too," Seiichi said.

Hari smiled and squeezed the hand she was still holding.

"Well, I think I'll go and watch Aoi and your brother attempt to work together in the volleyball match," Saeki said and smiled at Hari and nodded at Seiichi before walking away.

Hari and Seiichi moved and talked with more of their friends and Hari were glad that Seiichi was there and by her side. Everything always seemed better when he was there as well, even if he remained silent and allowed her to talk to her friends and laugh she knew he was watching her and smiling.

Ron and Hermione showed up beside her a lot too and she knew they were trying to get as much time spent with her before they had to leave.

"Your dad is crazy," Fuji said coming up beside them.

"He usually is," Hari nodded and glanced at Fuji curiously. "Why is he now, though?"

"He has Echizen and Aoi challenge others and if anyone wins they will win a trip to Hawaii and if they lose then they have to eat at the café he helps run," Fuji said.

Hari groaned, "so basically Ryo-chan and Aoi-kun have to win. There's no way that there's a real trip to Hawaii…"

"Yup," Fuji laughed.

Seiichi chuckled and Hari dropped her head on his shoulder groaning again.

"Worrisome…" she said.

...

"Want to go for a swim?" Seiichi asked as Hari watched the others having fun in the water and splashing each other.

Hari stilled before half turning away from Seiichi as she shook her head. She fisted her hands and swallowed down the embarrassment and frustration. Yes, she wanted to go into the water and have fun with the others, but…

"Hari-chan?" Seiichi said gently and worriedly.

"You go," Hari said. "I…"

"Hey," Seiichi said turning her back toward him and placing his hands on her shoulders. "We don't have to if you don't want to. I just thought you looked like you wanted to…"

Hari bit her lip as she glanced at the water again before looking back at Seiichi who was watching her with so much care and she couldn't help but wonder if he would understand. She felt embarrassed. He would think she was pathetic…

"I can't," she whispered tensing.

"Sorry?" he blinked. "Can't what?"

Hari forced herself to look at him as she spoke, "I can't swim."

It wasn't like the Dursley's had ever taken her to the sea or the pool, or anywhere that would require her to learn how to swim. They would probably just hope that she would drown if she ever got into the ocean.

Seiichi's eyes widened slightly before they turned understanding.

"I can teach you if you want," he offered.

Hari wasn't sure what to do or think. She had expected…she wasn't sure what she had expected but she had not expected him to just offer to teach her. She couldn't help it as she threw her arms around him and hugged him. Though the feel of his bare skin (he was only wearing swim trunks) was enough to make her blush and feel warm all over and it was suddenly a little difficult to breathe…

...

Hari followed Seiichi into the water, it wasn't cold but it didn't feel warm either. She couldn't help but wonder about the almost silky feel of the sand underneath her feet and smiled.

"We don't have to go far," Seiichi said.

Hari nodded and laughed as Kikumaru ran past them splashing water on them making Hari move closer to Seiichi. Momoshiro and Kaido came running after Kikumaru yelling and laughing at the same time and she watched as Momoshiro threw himself at Kikumaru making them both fall into the water.

"I have never been to the ocean before," Hari said looking around at her friends having fun. Even Keigo had entered the ocean with Kabaji tossing a beach ball back and forth.

"Really," Seiichi said looking at her.

"My…my aunt and uncle took Dudley but they never brought me," Hari admitted quietly. She wasn't sure why she shared that with Seiichi, she hadn't really talked about her relatives with anyone here before (not counting Ryoma and her family of course).

"Where would you be when they went?" Seiichi asked quietly.

Hari was silent for a moment and Seiichi didn't press her.

"With a neighbour, Mrs Figg," Hari finally said. "She…has a lot of cats. Like a lot."

Seiichi nodded and Hari glanced at him before she smiled and shook herself out of her memories.

"I'm glad I'm here," she said. "I can't believe you all did this…"

"We all wanted to celebrate with you," Seiichi smiled.

Hari smiled and nodded and turned her attention back to the water and accepted Seiichi's advice in how to float in the water. She felt a little nervous but mostly she just felt a thrill of excitement.

...

"Get back here!" Ron yelled running after Fred who was laughing as he went.

"Really," Hermione sighed and shook her head.

"He got pranked?" Hari asked plopping down beside Hermione on the towel and accepted the extra towel from Sakuno to dry off after her time in the water. "Thank you, Sakuno-chan."

"Of course he did," Hermione said closing the book she had been reading. "He should know better by now."

Hari laughed, "well, Fred and George know him too so they know how to trick him, I guess."

Hermione nodded and looked at Hari. "You and Yukimura looked to be having fun."

Hari blushed but nodded, "he's teaching me how to swim."

Hermione nodded, "I guessed. I'm glad you told him."

Hari frowned slightly and worried her lower lip before looking at Hermione. "I'm…scared."

Hari knew she wouldn't admit that to anyone but Hermione. And she knew that she didn't have much time before Hermione left.

"Scared?" Hermione asked surprised. "Why?"

Hari looked over at Seiichi who had gone over to Sanada and Minoru who had also come to celebrate with her. She had seen him hanging around Ryoga earlier but was now sitting quietly beside Sanada who glanced at the younger boy but didn't seem to comment on the small frown on the younger's face.

"I…I don't want to be hurt," Hari whispered.

Hermione followed her eyes and looked at Seiichi as well before looking back at Hari.

"You think Yukimura will hurt you?" Hermione asked.

"I am not…" Hari trailed off a little frustrated. "What can he possibly see in me? He's so…perfect and I can't help but trust him and he's not even trying…No one has made me trust them so fast as he has, Hermione. I can't help but…"

"Hey," Hermione interrupted. "You're worth it, Hari. You're a great judge of character and Yukimura really cares about you. I can't promise that you won't be hurt because life isn't that fair, but…I think that you will be more hurt if you push him away because of your own fears."

Hari looked at her and then nodded slowly. She didn't want to push him away either, but if he was in danger because of her…the dream came back and she remembered Voldemort's last words, warning? What if that was real?

"Hari?" Hermione looked worried.

"I'm fine," Hari said deciding that there was no need to worry Hermione right before they would leave and go back to England. "Thank you."

"Hari-chan!" Keigo stopped in front of her and arched a brow. "You've been ignoring me, the Great Atobe Keigo!"

Hari snorted, "How rude of me."

He grinned and pulled her to her feet, "come on! Let's play with the beach ball."

Hari followed and smiled at Kabaji who nodded at her and wished her a happy birthday while Otori and Shishido waved at her. The latter looked a little gruff but not unwelcoming.

"Let's have fun, Hari-chan," Otori smiled warmly.

Hari nodded and laughed as she joined them in their game.

...

"Hari-chan told me you were leaving tomorrow," Seiichi said looking at Hari's friends, Ron and Hermione. Both looked a little sad as they nodded and looked over at Hari who was having fun with Keigo and his team and some of the others had joined them as well now.

"Yeah," Hermione nodded. "We can't stay any longer."

Seiichi nodded thoughtfully.

"Hari really cares about you, you know." Hermione suddenly said making Seiichi look at her. She looked almost sad.

"I care about her too," Seiichi said trying not to blush.

Hermione nodded slowly. "I know."

"She seems strong and she is," Ron said seriously. "But…she's also too used to doing things on her own and can be a little too independent at times."

Seiichi frowned slightly as he looked at them before looking over at Hari who was now laughing and almost hanging over her brother who had come to join her. He looked a little annoyed but mostly fond.

"What Ron means to say is," Hermione continued making Seiichi look back at her, "we know we don't have the right to ask you this because we don't really know you that well, but please; look after her for us. She has let you in deeper than you know."

Seiichi nodded slowly and smiled slightly, "so basically; don't hurt her, right?"

"Yes," Ron nodded, "but mostly just…be there for her. She's used to being let down."

"I hadn't planned on anything else," Seiichi said.

Hermione smiled more genuinely now and seemed to relax, "you must think we're strange. This is normally not the kind of conversation you have with your girlfriend's friends at this age, right."

Seiichi shrugged, "I don't mind."

They both looked at him with something he couldn't name and he had a feeling that they had been testing him for something. He just hoped that he had passed whatever it was they had been testing him for. He didn't want Hari's friends to dislike him or anything.

...

The party neared its end and people started to leave and Hari smiled as Minoru hugged her and smiled up at her (though he wasn't that much shorter than her).

"Did you have fun?" Minoru asked.

"Yes," Hari nodded, "thank you for coming."

"It was fun!" he nodded and glanced over at where Ryoga was talking with Bill and Charlie. "Um, do you want to come to my birthday party?"

"I'd love to," Hari smiled.

He looked like he wanted to ask something else but shook his head and just smiled at her again before stepping back. Hari blinked but didn't question it as her eyes landed on Seiichi.

"We have to go," he said. "Good luck tomorrow, Hari-chan."

"Thanks," she smiled. "And I'm glad you came today. It really made the day perfect."

She blushed and felt silly admitting it. Also, her stomach felt like it was going crazy with all the fluttery feelings.

"I wouldn't be anywhere else," Seiichi said with such certainty that Hari blushed deeper and smiled again. Suddenly he was closer and Hari held her breath as he bent down and pressed his lips to hers in a short but deeper than normal kiss. "Your gift is at your house. I had someone send it over earlier today."

Hari blinked dazedly before she found the words again, "you didn't have to get me anything."

"Of course I did," he said stepping back and Hari suddenly felt like someone was glaring behind her and she saw Seiichi glance over her shoulder before he smiled down at her amusedly. "I guess I should go before your dad finds another reason to hate me."

Hari snorted but nodded. "See you later."

...

They arrived back at the house and Hari still felt warm and happy after the day spent with all her friends. She still couldn't really believe that they had come to celebrate her birthday with her like this. It was the first time she hadn't been alone on her birthday.

"We won't be able to see you tomorrow," Hermione said breaking the silence that had fallen in the living room.

Hari turned and saw Hermione watching her with tears in her eyes and Ron and his brothers were also looking sadly at her even if they did try to smile.

"We have to catch an early flight tomorrow," Bill said.

"I see," Hari swallowed. "I guess I already knew that."

Hermione didn't seem to be able to keep it together anymore as she let out a sob and lunged for Hari in a hug and hid her face against Hari's shoulder. Hari hugged her close and inhaled shakily trying to keep control over her own emotions but she could feel the tears threatening to overpower her.

"I don't want to go," Hermione admitted.

"Me neither," Ron said pushing his hands into his pocket as he watched them.

Hari wasn't sure when they had gone but her family had left the room to give them privacy something she was grateful for.

"I wish you would stay too," Hari said. "I wish I could keep in touch…"

"Actually," Ron said making Hari look at him and Hermione pulled away from her sniffling slightly as she did and used the back of her hand to dry her tears. It was not often Hari saw Hermione lose control over her emotions like this.

"We have something for you," Hermione said. "A birthday present."

"Eh?" Hari blinked as they held out something wrapped in paper. Hari looked at them for a second before she opened it and noticed a black leathered book. It looked rather ordinary in Hari's eyes and flipping it open revealed blank pages.

"It's a special kind of notebook that allows us to write to each other," Hermione explained. "Ron and I have one as well. We'll have to share on, though. They are pretty rare."

Hari blinked looking down at the book and then at her friends again.

"So…we can write to each other?" she asked barely daring to hope.

"Yes," Ron nodded.

Hari didn't attempt to fight the tears now as she threw her arms around her two best friends and hugged them both at the same time with tears running down her cheeks.

"That's great," she cried.

Eventually, she calmed down and pulled back and again looked at the book.

"How does it work?" she asked.

"It's a charm that allows what you write in this to appear in a sister-book," Hermione explained. "Bill got it through his connections at work. It's something that they use in their work to communicate with other curse-breakers on other sites if they are on sites that can't handle a lot of magic at once. It's really fascinating, actually and…"

"Maybe we shouldn't go into it now," Ron interrupted making Hermione glare at him but stopped talking.

Hari smiled slightly, "it sounds fascinating."

Hermione nodded, "right? But, anyway, I thought it was a good way for us to stay in touch."

"It is," Hari agreed and looked over at Bill. "Thank you, Bill."

"No problem;" he smiled. "Though be careful not to lose it."

Hari nodded.

They stood in silence once more and Hari wasn't sure what to say or how to say everything she wanted to say. It burned in her throat but nothing came out and all she could do was hug them again thinking that she was going to miss them.

 **...**

 **...**

 **AN:** **What do you think? XD**

 **It's finally time to say goodbye to Hermione and the Weasley boys. I decided that they had stayed long enough for now and it was natural for them to leave. I know it might be a little abrupt, but it just felt right to end their visit here. Though, they now have a way to stay in touch. XD**

 **Hope you liked the chapter and thank you for reading and supporting the story! XD**


	48. Seigaku vs Rokkaku

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Prince of Tennis!**

 **...**

 **"Parseltongue"**

 **...**

 **...**

Hari walked up to her room after saying goodbye to her friends with mixed feelings. She was happy because this was the best birthday she'd ever had by far and she'd had fun with her friends and family. Yet, she was also sad because her friends would leave and she wasn't sure when she would see them again. She was going to miss them.

She remembered the apprehension she had felt when they first arrived and knew that they had been through some rough changes in their relationship. It used to be Hogwarts that bound them together, but the school wouldn't be their connection any longer. Hari couldn't help but think that their relationship was stronger for it because now they would be connected because they chose it and their friendship had survived the change.

Hari sighed as she pushed the door to her room open and stepped inside and stilled when she saw the small pile of presents on the bed. She blinked. She remembered Seiichi saying that he had sent something over for her but that couldn't be all of this…

"Aren't you going to open them?" Nanjiro asked from behind her and she turned to see her family standing there. They smiled at her.

"You…they're really for me?" Hari asked.

"Of course they are," Ryoma huffed. "Who else would they be for?"

"Shut up," Hari laughed.

"Come on," Ryoga smiled. "I'm curious."

Hari walked over to the bed and sat down in the middle of it before pulling the first present over to her. She was aware that her family sat down around the room as well and Hedwig hooted from her perch.

She read the note on the present she had picked and saw that it was from Nanjiro and Rinko. She swallowed before she slowly started to open it. She didn't want to rush it but drag out the feeling of opening her presents from her family for the first time.

"Thank you!" She said when she held up the sweater and noticed the owl on it. She laughed. It was perfect!

"I thought you would like that," Rinko smiled.

"I love it!" Hari grinned.

She opened two more gifts from Rinko and Nanjiro and smiled at the new tennis gear and equipment. She could tell that Nanjiro had been the one picking these gifts.

"Open mine now!" Ryoma said pushing one over to her.

Hari nodded and started to open it and almost laughed when she saw that it was a book about tennis and how to improve. That was so Ryoma… She smiled and hugged him making him blush slightly. Ryoga gave her a few movies that he had talked about but she hadn't seen.

"Thank you," Hari smiled at them after hugging them (again). She had trouble putting words on how she felt. It seemed impossible to describe the way her heart swelled and how she felt accepted and a part of their family. It wasn't just that they had given her presents. She didn't need that, but it was the overall experience with the party they'd had on the beach and how they had been there and a part of it, and then this. She had never had anything like that before. At least not since she was a baby and she (obviously) didn't remember that.

"You're welcome, Hari-chan," Rinko said smiling warmly and seemed to understand what was going through Hari's head. "You're family, and we love you. We are happy you were born."

 _We are happy you were born._

Hari knew there were tears in her eyes as she bit her lip and looked down not able to meet their eyes and not able to say anything in fear of starting to cry. No one had said that to her before…

"You have a present left," Ryoma said making Hari look over at the last present and she knew it was from Seiichi. She also knew that Ryoma had purposely pointed it out in order to lighten the mood and give her something to focus on.

Hari pushed back the overwhelming emotions the best she could before reaching out and pulled the last present over. She couldn't help but wonder about what Seiichi could have given her. She pulled off the paper and blinked when she saw the box inside. It was just a regular brown box and it said nothing about what was inside of it.

"A box?" Nanjiro asked looking sceptical and not that impressed. "Would have thought the boy could do better than that…"

"Stop it, Otou-chan," Hari sighed. "I haven't opened the box yet…"

"Calm down, dear," Rinko told her husband with a shake of her head while Ryoma and Ryoga snorted amused.

Hari lifted the lid and blinked a couple of times because inside she found da lot of puzzle pieces. She picked one up but it wasn't possible to guess what the motif could possibly be by just looking at one piece and found that even if she tried to look at more she couldn't guess what the motif of the puzzle was.

"A puzzle?" Ryoma arched a brow. "Hn, I guess that's pretty cool. What is it of?"

"Don't know," Hari said turning the box around and could not see a picture of anything at all to give her the answer.

"There's a note," Ryoga pointed out picking up a small card that had fallen off the bed and handed it to her.

...

 _Dear Hari-chan!_

 _I know you might be confused about my gift. I promise you that I have a reason for why I gave this to you. Take your time in putting it together and have fun. I will wait until you're done before I mention the message of this puzzle. It is designed by me and I really hope you like it._

 _Again, happy birthday, Hari!_

 _Yukimura Seiichi._

 _..._

"He designed it," Hari said with a smile. "I wonder what it is of…"

"How many pieces is it?" Ryoma asked curiously.

"Don't know," Hari shrugged getting off her bed and walked around the bed and to where she had more room on her bedroom floor. She wanted to start it and see if she could get a peek of what the design was. She felt really curious.

"You're starting it now?" Nanjiro asked and Hari nodded.

Rinko smiled and pulled Nanjiro from the room leaving Ryoma and Ryoga with her and they sat down to watch her as she emptied the box onto the floor and started to try to get a look at the pieces and organize them.

"Do you like puzzles?" Ryoga asked after a while.

Hari shrugged without looking up. "Never really tried before, but I think it looks fun."

"He is creative with ideas for gifts," Ryoma commented. "Do you like it?"

"Yes," Hari nodded, "I do. I wonder what he has designed…"

"I wonder what he wants to say…" Ryoga said.

Hari nodded and frowned as she realised that this would take a while. She really wanted to know what he was trying to say through the puzzle.

...

Hari felt tired when she met the others the next day. She had stayed up too late with the puzzle before she remembered that she had to go to sleep because of the match. She yawned as she listened to the others talk about the match and wondered what the puzzle could possibly be off. So far it was only colour and not any shapes visible from the small part she had gotten done. In other words; nothing to reveal the image.

"Before the match be sure to warm up!" Oishi said.

"Hai!" Hari and the others said and she shook herself in order to focus on what was happening now and not the unsolved puzzle back home.

She started to jog along with Ryoma and saw the others spread out around the court as she jogged with her brother. She knew she had to get her mind onto the game because she was going to be playing in the first double match with Kawamura. She had not played with him very often so she was a little nervous about how well they would match each other, but Ryuzaki had said that she wanted to power from Kawamura with the flexibility from her.

"You ready?" Ryoma asked glancing at her with a knowing look.

"Yes," Hari nodded. "I'm ready."

"Good," Ryoma said. "You'll do fine. You just have to remain focused and do your best."

Hari nodded.

"I wish that Ron and Hermione would be here," Hari said after a moment.

"It's strange that they're not," Ryoma admitted glancing at her. "You…"

Hari looked over at him when he trailed off and saw that he was looking straight ahead and frowning slightly.

"What?" She asked.

"Nothing," he sighed.

"Ryoma?" Hari blinked as he picked up the pace and she felt confused and curious about what he wanted to ask or say. She also felt a flash of concern as she picked up her own pace in order to keep up with him.

Hari ended up with the court by herself while Ryoma had gone to get something to drink. He had not said anything about what he had been about to say and she sighed. Well, she would ask him more about it later.

"Hari-chan," a voice said and Hari spun around and smiled when she saw Saeki and Kisarazu standing there.

"Jiro-kun!" Hari grinned and jogged over to him and hugged him.

"You'd think you hadn't seen me in weeks and not just a day," Saeki laughed as he hugged her back. "You had fun yesterday?"

"Of course," Hari grinned up at him when she pulled away. "I'm happy you all made it too."

"It was fun," Kisarazu commented.

"Yeah, it was," Hari agreed. "So, you're the first one here?"

"I'm surprised you got here without getting lost, actually," Saeki smirked and looked around. "And before the rest of your team as well."

"Haha," Hari glared at him before her lips twitched amused. "I…kind of had company."

"Kind of?"

"Well, Ryo-chan is nearby," Hari admitted. "He just went to find something to drink."

"I knew it," Saeki laughed. "You would have ended up lost if you had been on your own."

"No, I wouldn't," Hari denied. "It's not me that gets lost, but the others who keep moving around and making it harder."

"Sure it is," Saeki agreed.

Hari huffed, "you're making fun of me."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Saeki grinned.

...

"They look to be close," Horio commented as he saw Hari talking with Saeki and Kisarazu. Horio was (like always) walking with Kachiro and Mizuno and Sakuno and Tomoka. They had met Fuji, Kawamura and Kikumaru close by and knew they too saw Hari talking easily with Saeki.

"They sure do;" Fuji smiled. "He was there yesterday, too."

"The rest of the team as well," Kikumaru added. "They really do know our Hari-chan."

"Wonder what they're talking about," Kachiro said.

"Who knows," Horio said sullenly. "But she shouldn't be that close to the other team before a match!"

"There's nothing wrong with it," Sakuno said almost timidly.

"No, there's not," Yoshida said coming up startling them.

"Yoshida-senpai!" Sakuno said surprised.

"Hey!" Yoshida smiled. "Sorry for being absent lately."

"Hari-chan said you were sick," Kachiro said shyly. "Are you feeling better now?"

"Yes," Yoshida nodded. "I'm better."

"Good," Sakuno smiled at her.

...

Hari smiled at Saeki before she waved and turned to go over to her own team when she noticed them arriving. She smiled wider when she noticed Yoshida and surprised the other girl when she hugged her.

"Welcome back!" Hari smiled. "Finally someone sane around here that can help me keep these runts in line!"

"Oi!" Momoshiro protested loudly.

"Hari-chan is mean, nya!" Kikumaru whined while hugging her. "Be nicer, Hari-chan!"

Hari groaned and pushed at him. "You're just proving my point!"

"Eiji!" Oishi sighed. "Calm down."

Hari sighed as she was released but smiled amusedly. She never got tired of this team.

"Gather around!" Ryuzaki called them. Hari walked with the others where Ryuzaki was standing and saw the annoyed look on Ryoma's face and saw him glance over at Aoi and knew the other boy must have done something to get Ryoma annoyed at him so fast.

"The game starts now!" Ryuzaki said. "First, doubles 2, Kawamura and Echizen Hari. Show them Seigaku's power and flexibility team!"

"Yes!" Kawamura said.

"Sure will!" Hari grinned.

"Let's take the lead right away!" Oishi said.

"Yes!"

Just then Oishi's phone buzzed and he pulled it out and read the message on it before grinning.

"It's from Tezuka!"

"Really?"

"Tezuka-Captain?"

"Let me see, let me see."

"Really?"

"What does it say?"

"Let's not get careless." Oishi read out loud.

Hari smirked, that sounded like Tezuka alright!

"That's it?" Kikumaru blinked.

 **"** **The juicy man represents the sense,"** Kaido hissed making Hari stifle a laugh.

"He hasn't changed at all," Fuji commented with a smile.

"That's more like our Captain anyway," Ryoma said.

Hari could tell that they all calmed down more as they talked about the message and knew that Tezuka was following them from Germany. Even if he wasn't here to take part in the game he was still here in a way that was important and helpful.

"Oh," Oishi said. "He also said; happy birthday, Hari-chan."

Hari smiled and nodded, "he even remembered? Well, say thank you to him when you reply."

Oishi nodded.

...

"Welcome to the semi-finals! Seigaku vs Rokkaku! Doubles 2 will now begin!"

Hari stepped onto the court with Kawamura and shared a smile with him before looking over at the other said of the court. She saw Kurobane and Amane standing ready and they seemed confident. She noticed the long racket Amane had and remembered seeing it once before. If she remembered correctly it had been their coach that had made it. In fact, she thought Saeki had told her that their coach had made all their rackets.

"One set match! Rokkaku's Kurobane to serve!" The referee called out.

Hari felt the familiar rush of anticipation and excitement as Kurobane prepared to serve the ball just as Kawamura started to chant like he normally did. She smirked as she noticed the startled looks from Kurobane and Amane.

"Hey! Hey! Bring it! Burning! All right, chump! Come on!"

Kurobane said something about no hard feeling and winning just as he served the ball and Hari barely had time to blink before the ball got past her and hit Kawamura in the stomach making him fall back.

"Kawamura!" Hari called out and she could tell the rest of her team and coach also reacted with concern and shock.

Hari didn't run over to him but she wanted to. He was already getting back to his feet with a thoughtful look on his face as he did so. She looked over at Kurobane with a pensive frown. He really had power in that serve… They would need to find out a way to counter that or they would not make it.

...

15-0: Rokkaku

Hari narrowed her eyes. The technique he used was high level and she could tell that he was better than she had first believed him to be. That was on her. She knew better than to underestimate someone but she had a feeling that she had done so with him. It annoyed her.

The next serve came at her and she gritted her teeth as she put all her power into it and managed to return it but Amane used his long racket to hit it back over the net.

"Leave it to me, Hari-chan!" Kawamura yelled.

Hari did and without looking knew that Kawamura had used the style Hadoukyo (a style that used 120% of an arm's strength) that he had copied from one of the Fudomine players. Kawamura had worked hard to perfect that style and had used it in almost all of his matches since. So, to see it being returned like it was nothing was enough for Hari to feel a little worried.

...

 **30** -0: Rokkaku

...

Kurobane served again and while Hari again managed to return the ball Amane reached it and returned it once more. Kawamura used his power again and returned the ball and Hari was sure that it would be out of reach for Kurobane now but he managed to reach it and returned it once more and taking another point.

...

 **40** -0: Rokkaku

...

The cheers from the others could be heard loud and clear but Hari didn't focus on this as she focused on the match and tried to think of a way out of this.

...

"Hm," Fuji commented. "Looks like a rough one."

"Hari-chan is not that power-player like the others are," Kikumaru said worriedly.

"She'll figure something out," Ryoma said confidently.

"You think so?" Horio asked sceptically. "I think Momo-chan should have played this one."

"Something different isn't necessarily bad," Kaido hissed never looking away from Hari and Kawamura. "Hari-chan might be the one to break them free."

...

 **1** -0: Game Rokkaku!

...

"…"

"…"

"Arhg…"

...

 **2** -0: Game Rokkaku!

...

"…"

*sigh*

"…ugh…"

...

 **3** -0: Game Rokkaku!

...

Hari wiped her brow as she let out a frustrated sigh. This wasn't working and she was only holding Kawamura back. There was no way she could do anything in a power match and it wasn't like Kurobane and Amane was only using power-based moves…

She frowned.

Shit. She was an idiot… She looked over at Ryuzaki and saw her looking serious and a little pensive. Was she regretting putting Hari in this match now? Did they all think she was ruining their chances at winning? Maybe she shouldn't be playing this kind of matches…she wasn't as strong as the others… she had no use in power based matches.

She looked over at Kawamura who was looking determined and knew he hated to lose when it came to power. He always prided himself of his power play and knew that it was his strong suit and she was messing it all up because he had to cover for her more than not.

But she was no use in…Wait. She had already thought that, but why did it sound a little different in her mind now? She was no use in power matches. Ryuzaki knew that. So why had she put Hari in this match? If she had wanted another powerful player she would have had Momoshiro play. But she hadn't and had told Hari to play. Why?

"Are you going to serve today or?!" Someone from the crowd yelled.

Hari ignored them and looked at Kawamura again who glanced at her and arched a brow. She wasn't a power-player like him. But she was more flexible and had better agility than him and she was faster. Maybe she could use that in order to fight back?

Filled with new determination she bounced the ball a couple of times before she tossed it up in the air and did her slice serve.

Kurobane went for the ball and Hari followed it up ready when the ball was returned and had already jumped up and managed to direct the ball to the opposite side and away from both Kurobane and Amane with a clean hit.

The silence fell when she landed and the ball got past them both giving Hari and Kawamura their first points.

...

 **15** -0: Seigaku

...

Hari rolled her shoulder and smiled.

"Well done, Hari-chan!" Kawamura said.

"Let's do this, senpai!" Hari smiled at him.

He nodded.

"Oh," Fuji smiled. "This is becoming interesting."

"Yes! They got a point!" Horio cheered along with Kachiro and Mizuno.

"Go Hari-chan! Go Kawamura-senpai!" Tomoka cheered jumping up and down and waving her pompoms.

Yoshida smiled as she made a note in her notebook and glanced at Inui who also looked to be taking notes. Her eyes found Hari again and she couldn't help but wonder at the steps she had been taking in her game… she really had developed since she had started, Yoshida thought.

...

 **30** -0: Seigaku

...

…

…

 **40** -0: Seigaku

...

"Hm," Saeki sighed.

"I thought Bane-chan and David-kun had this in the bag!" one of the kids around the team said as Hari served another ball and it went past both Kurobane and Amane.

"Hari-chan is good," Saeki said. "We all know that and Kawamura isn't to be dismissed either."

"I'm surprised they put Hari-chan against Kurobane and Amane," Shudo Satoshi commented and glanced over at Saeki. "I was expecting her against you."

Saeki nodded thoughtfully. He had also expected that Hari would be put together with Kikumaru or Fuji against him and Itsuki.

"Why? Why?" Itsuki asked. "Why did they not put her against Saeki? Why? Why?"

"I guess their coach has something in mind," Saeki said and watched as Hari and Kawamura won their first game.

...

3- **1** : Game Seigaku!

...

 **4** -1: Game Rokkaku!

...

4- **2** : Game Seigaku!

...

4- **3** : Game Seigaku!

...

They had almost caught up with them! Only one game more and they would be at a tie! Hari could hear the cheering from her team while she saw the frowns on the Rokkaku team. She knew they would push back even more now but she had faith in her and Kawamura. They had found a way to play that mixed well together and with a little more push they would find a better way for Kawamura to use his power.

"Burning!" Kawamura yelled fired up. "Yes, baby! Burning!"

Hari shook her head slightly with an amused smile as Kawamura served the ball and she was prepared when Kurobane returned it. She ran forward and used all her strength in order to hit the ball back. She could tell that it was real power in this return and she gritted her teeth as her arm felt a little tingly after returning the ball again. But that didn't matter as the ball went past the Rokkaku players.

...

 **15** -0: Seigaku

...

"Yes, burning!" Kawamura yelled.

"Good serve, Kawamura!" Hari grinned over at him.

He grinned back almost looking scary but she just smiled. "Ready, Kawamura? The real game begins now."

"You bet!" He said. "Burning!"

She nodded and looked over at Kurobane and Amane. They would step up their power now and she knew that it would be hard for her to keep up, but she had done her best and she would be able to do it. And she would use her own skills in order to give Kawamura the best opportunity to use his power that had been building up all the while they had played. The more intense the game got the more he got riled up and she knew he was burning (yes she used that word intentionally) to use it.

The ball rallied back and forth a few times and Hari even managed to return the ball in a place where Kurobane was forced to return it toward Kawamura who was standing behind her ready to send the ball back and she could almost feel the heat from it as it zoomed past her.

...

 **40** -0: Seigaku

...

"They really are turning it around," Oishi commented.

"Hari-chan is making it possible," Fuji nodded. "She's allowing Kawamura to build up his power and are starting to manipulate where Rokkaku is returning their balls setting Kawamura up to use his strength in order to return the balls again."

"Woah," Kikumaru smiled. "They're a great team!"

 **"** **The design monitors the wound,"** Kaido hissed.

Hari somehow heard them and smiled slightly. They seemed to be optimistic. That was good.

...

4- **4** : Game Seigaku!

...

It was a tie!

Finally, Hari thought. If she was going to be honest she felt exhausted and her arm kind of hurt, but she knew she had to stay focused and that it was no time for her to let those things distract her.

She wanted to win. She wanted to win with Kawamura who was the kindest person on this team.

She frowned when she noticed Amane (or David as she had heard someone call him) tie his hair up and saw the almost shocked look from the rest of his team. She had no idea why, though. But she had a feeling that he was becoming even tougher now.

"Ah, now you've done it," Kurobane said.

"Eh?" Kawamura asked.

"He's serious now!" Kurobane said.

Well, it was about time, Hari thought not that impressed. They had tied their pretty solid lead. In her mind, it was past the time to get serious.

...

Hm. Oji was sitting on the bench and felt that this was not going the way he had hoped. He could tell that his two players were getting nervous and on edge. That was not good.

He looked over at the two Seigaku players and allowed himself to linger on Echizen Hari. She was good. The way she had turned this around and used her skills in order to do so.

Well, played, he thought as he glanced over at Ryuzaki at the other bench. That woman was always a challenge. She must have known what she was doing when she put Hari on this match. In a match that should not have been the kind of match that would fit her.

He sighed.

This was not going to go well…

...

 **5** -4: Game Rokkaku!

...

Hari frowned slightly.

Okay, she hadn't really expected the game to be completely theirs yet. It was clear that Rokkaku had more to give.

She looked at Kawamura and saw the determination on his face. He nodded at her and she remembered him telling her about the new move he had worked hard on getting ready. He was now letting her know that he was ready to try it.

She nodded.

Rokkaku had the serve and she returned the ball and stepped back in order to give the court to Kawamura. He had already gotten into his stance and (if she was being honest) looked rather scary and un-Kawamura-like. His eyes almost burned red and she could only imagine the kind of fiery aura that would be surrounding him if such a thing was visible.

"It's the one-hand Hadoukyu!" Horio yelled excitedly.

No, it's not, Hari thought, eying him curiously from the corner of her eye. It's different… for one he was in a running stance or something like that and he was now moving with force and determination. She could see the strain he put on his ankles and not to mention his wrist on his right hand as he hit the ball and it shot over to the other side of the court making both Amane and Kurobane lose the hold of their rackets and making them fall to the ground by the pure force of the hit. The ball ended up lodged in the netting behind the pair and it looked scorched and Hari would swear she saw smoke coming from the ball.

Shocked and slightly scared silence fell for a moment as Kawamura dropped to the ground breathing heavily. Hari smiled but she would admit that she felt a little worried as well.

The cheering from the crowd got louder as the stunned silence fell away and Hari heard Tomoka and Sakuno call out their name for the move Kawamura had just used:

"Dash Hadoukyu!"

Well, it fit, Hari thought as she walked over to Kawamura and smiled down at him. He smiled back up at her and she held out a hand and helped him back up to his feet.

"Good one," Hari smiled. "But we're not done yet!"

He nodded still breathing a little harder but he had started to get control over it again.

...

5- **5** : Game Seigaku!

...

5- **6** : Game Seigaku!

...

 **6** -6: Game Rokkaku!

...

"Game and match to Seigaku! **7** -6!" The referee finally called causing Hari to sit down on the court feeling exhausted and sore. But she smiled happily. They had won!

...

"You won!" Kikumaru beamed and hugged Hari who smiled tiredly at him and winced slightly as he hugged her. Her arms ached but it was worth it.

"Well done," Fuji smiled.

"Thanks," Hari smiled.

"You two are a good team;" Momoshiro smiled.

Kawamura laughed and smiled at Hari who nodded in agreement. It had worked surprisingly well, though, she wasn't sure she really was the best to be put in what should have, and kind of was, been a power match.

"Kawamura-senpai isn't hard to work with," Hari said.

"Good job," Ryoma smiled at her and she felt warm seeing the pride in his eyes.

"Thanks," Hari smiled.

"Good game, Hari-chan," Yoshida smiled at her and Hari smiled back. "I have my observations of the game here for you to look at later."

"Great," Hari said. "Thank you."

Fuji and Kikumaru were the next ones up and Hari glanced over and saw that they were playing Saeki and Itsuki. This would be an interesting match as well. Hari smiled. She was curious to see what Fuji and Kikumaru could do, but also Saeki. It was too bad that she couldn't cheer for him, though.

...

Hari smiled as she watched Fuji and Kikumaru thank Saeki and Itsuki for the match. It had been an interesting one just like she had thought. Saeki had managed to lock down Kikumaru's acrobatic play for a while until Kikumaru had managed to break free again, but he had used too much of his stamina doing so and had been so exhausted that Fuji had to play on his own for a while.

But Saeki's ability to see Kikumaru's movements and reading them was not the only talent that Rokkaku had in this doubles match. Hari would admit that she had been surprised when Itsuki could hit a sinker. Meaning that the ball didn't have a spin to it and therefore making it difficult for Fuji to use his favourite and best moves.

Of course, Fuji was called a tennis genius for a reason and had managed to make Itsuki hit his sinker balls so they hit the net and therefore adding the spin he needed to his balls and managed to use his favourite Tsubame Gaeshi.

And added to the fact that Kikumaru managed to get enough stamina back at the end they won the match 6-2.

"Good match, Jiro-kun," Hari smiled at him when he stepped off the court.

"Thanks," he smiled back though she saw the trace of disappointment in his eyes. "They got us, though."

"Well, I was impressed by you," Hari smiled.

He laughed and ruffled her hair, "well, I'm glad. Did you learn anything?"

"Always the teacher, eh?" Hari laughed back but swatted his hand away.

"Of course," Saeki smiled.

"Well, then, yes," Hari nodded, "I did."

"Good." He said. "Maybe we'll play each other next time, eh?"

"That would be fun," Hari grinned.

She nodded once more and jogged back over to her own team and looked at Ryoma who was up next.

...

"So, how did it go?" Seiichi asked over the phone later that night.

"Well, we have to go back tomorrow," Hari said.

"Really?" Seiichi sounded surprised. "Why?"

"Because Ryo-chan's match against Aoi-kun isn't over yet," Hari sighed. "They played for over three hours and the referee had to stop the match because of the setting sun. So, since no one won they have to continue the match tomorrow."

"Huh," Seiichi said. "I haven't heard of that actually happening before. Echizen plays Singles matches, right?"

"Yes," Hari said. "Today it was Singles 3. If he wins we're ready for the finals because we won both of our doubles."

"You did? That's great," Seiichi said. "You played in the doubles, right?"

"Yes, with Kawamura-senpai," Hari said. "My arm still hurts."

"A power match, huh," Seiichi said sounding a little worried. "You're okay?"

"Yes," Hari smiled and looked down at the puzzle before her and tried to figure out the right spot for one of the pieces. "I am. Just a little sore."

"Okay, that's good, then," Seiichi said. "So, what are you doing now?"

"Besides talking to you," Hari grinned even though he couldn't see her.

"Yes," Seiichi laughed.

"Working on your puzzle," Hari said.

He was silent for a moment and she thought she heard him inhaled but she wasn't sure.

"I see," he said. "Take your time with it."

"I'm curious;" Hari said. "Can't you just tell me what it's off? It will be easier to find the right pieces then."

"No," Seiichi said and she could hear the smile in his voice. "You'll figure it out."

"Fine," Hari sighed. "I will. But I do think you could help me a little."

"I can say that it's of something important and something I really treasure," Seiichi said.

Hari blinked, "hm. Well, I guess I will see."

"Yes, you will," Seiichi said quietly.

Why was he suddenly sounding nervous?

"Sei-chan?" Hari asked. "You okay?"

"Of course I am," he said with a lighter voice.

"Alright," she said.

She heard the door open and close downstairs and smiled slightly, looked like Ryoma was back again. He had dragged Nanjiro out to play tennis right after they got back. She had not bothered to go and watch.

"Seems like Ryo-chan's back;" Hari commented.

"Oh? Did he go somewhere?" Seiichi asked.

"Went out to play tennis with Otou-chan," Hari said. "He is really riled up for the match."

"Sounds good," Seiichi said. "Can't be easy to have to pause it like that."

"No, but Ryo-chan can handle it;" Hari said confidently. "Though, I doubt he'll get much sleep…"

Seiichi laughed.

...

Hari stayed up late working on the puzzle and she could make out more and more of the image that was on it and she couldn't help the lump in her throat and the rapid heartbeats as she tried to keep from thinking about what it could be. She didn't want to be disappointed.

It was not intentional but finally she fell asleep on the floor in the midst of the puzzle and the beginning shape of _something_.

It was hours later that the opening and closing of a door startled her awake and she blinked as she realised that she had fallen asleep on the floor. She pushed herself up and grimaced as her muscles protested the movement had not enjoyed the hard surface she had slept on in addition to feeling it from the match the day before.

She rolled her shoulder lightly and winced but it didn't feel to be too serious. She rubbed her eyes and glanced out the window and she could still see the stars on the sky. So it was still night time, so who had left the house?

She looked to see the perch Hedwig usually used empty and knew she must still be out to look for food or just flying around doing whatever it was she did during her flight. Hari yawned and got to her feet and made her way out of the room and to the bathroom where she splashed some water on her face.

"Wonder who left…" she murmured.

She stepped out of the bathroom again and noticed that the door to Ryoma's room was open and she walked over to it and looked inside. She smiled. The bed was empty and his pyjamas were left on the bed.

"I guess I'll follow him," Hari said to herself rubbing at her eyes.

...

She found her way to the courts just as it had started to get light outside and before she could see the court she could hear the sound of tennis balls being hit and the thudding of them bouncing against the courts. She was not surprised when she spotted Ryoma and Aoi already playing each other on the court they had used the day before. She stopped walking as she watched them and decided against making herself known. It was too much fun to just watch.

So, she walked to the trees and looked up with a pensive look before she somehow managed to climb up to the nearest branch and settled on it. She made herself comfortable and grinned seeing that she had the perfect overview of the court and could see Ryoma and Aoi perfectly. Suddenly something white caught her attention and she smiled as Hedwig landed on her arm and hooted softly.

"Hey girl," Hari smiled. "You came to join me?"

Hedwig nibbled on her hair and Hari stroked her feathers as she shifted her eyes to the court and saw the smile on Ryoma's face. Hari arched a brow because not everyone could make Ryoma smile like that. She looked at Aoi who was smiling like had done yesterday and seemed even more pleased. Probably because of Ryoma's smile. He had been trying to get Ryoma to show more emotions the entire game the day before.

Hari lost track of time as they played before they stopped and walked off the court and she saw them picking a patch of grass underneath a tree a little to the right from her but hidden by the court. The only reason she could see them was because she was still up in the tree. She saw Ryoma drinking some ponta while Aoi had some water.

"There they are out," Hari commented to Hedwig. "Asleep…so troublesome, but amusing…"

She stayed in the tree and allowed her mind to wander. She wondered if Hermione and Ron had gotten home alright. She had forgotten to check the notebook that would allow her to write to them. She would have to do that later…

Hari wasn't sure when but suddenly her team had gathered underneath her tree and they seemed a little rattled and stressed. She blinked. When had they arrived?

"Still can't find Ryoma!" Horio reported as he and the other two first years came running up to them.

"His family?" Ryuzaki asked concerned.

"His dad said he had left earlier," Fuji said. "Hari-chan as well…"

"Hari-chan is probably lost," Momoshiro snorted, "but Echizen… Where can he be?!"

Lost? How rude! Hari scowled at them from her tree.

"Kaido warm up just in case," Ryuzaki ordered and Kaido hissed something.

"Oi!" Hari called out. "How rude! I'm not lost!"

They all startled and it was amusing to see them look around for her but seeing nothing.

"Up here," Hari said.

They looked up and blinked. Hari knew she must be some sight sitting in the tree with Hedwig in her lap looking content and half-asleep.

"Hari-chan!"

"What…"

"When did you get up there?!"

Hari shrugged, "and Ryo-chan is over there." She pointed behind her and watched them make their way toward Ryoma and Aoi who were still sleeping. Hari decided it was time to get down and jumped off the tree easily landing on her feet and casually made her way behind the others.

"Ah…"

Fuji laughed lightly and met Hari's eyes. She could tell he was amused.

"Should I wake them?" Kawamura asked.

"Of course," Ryuzaki sighed with her arms folded over her chest.

"What have they been doing?" Kikumaru asked curiously as Kawamura tried to wake them up.

"I think I can guess," Fuji smiled.

Hari shrugged, "what do you normally do on a tennis court?"

"You mean…they have been playing?" Sakuno asked surprised.

"Mm," Hari smiled. "Until recently. Then they fell asleep. Guess they got rid of the restlessness that was keeping them awake all night."

"And you watched from a tree?" Fuji arched a brow.

"As good as observation spot as any," Hari shrugged with a smile.

The others shook their heads but had gotten used to her in some way so it wasn't that surprising any more. Hari smiled as Ryoma and Aoi woke up and looked confused for a moment before Aoi startled and seemed to remember that he should be with his own team. He rushed off and left the rest amused or exasperated.

"How cute," Hari smiled reaching out to ruffle Ryoma's hair making him scowl at her and swat her hand away. "You're adorable when you wake up."

"Shut up," Ryoma blushed and got up.

"Go and wash your face," Ryuzaki sighed.

"Okay," Ryoma said and jogged away with one last scowl at Hari who just laughed.

...

"Game and match! Seigaku's Echizen! **6** -4!" The referee finally called out.

Hari smiled happily. He finally managed to win. It was not an easy victory either, because Aoi was good. He was probably one of the best players Ryoma had played against so far.

Cheering filled the air and Hari smiled as Momoshiro threw an arm around her shoulders grinning happily.

They were ready for the finals!

 **...**

 **...**

 **AN:** **What do you think? XD**

 **Hope you liked it! :) I hope there wasn't too much tennis in this... I tried to balance it out, but I don't know if it turned out to be too much or too little. Always difficult to get right. :)**

 **Merry Christmas (though a little late)! XD**  
 **I also wanted to thank you all for the support and everything for this story 2019! I can't believe it's already almost 2020... This year has gone by so quickly. I really do appreciate the readers and every review, favourite and follower. XD Happy New Year everyone!**


	49. Promise of Happiness? Part one

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Prince of Tennis!**

 **...**

 **...**

 **England**

...

"Ron!"

Ron looked up and saw his mother coming running out of the house in welcome and he smiled feeling warmth fill him as he was hugged tightly. He felt his ears going red.

"Oof, get off, mum," Ron said after a moment and reluctantly pushed her away.

"Oh, I've missed you so much," Mrs Weasley cried pulling back and looked at him like she was trying to memorise his face. Then she looked behind Ron and smiled again letting Ron go and turning to her older children.

"Fred, George," she said before she hugged them both at the same time. "I'm so happy you're back! I do hope you have behaved and not pranked everyone."

"Of course…"

"…we haven't…"

"…behaved!" Fred and George said. "How could you accuse us of something like that?"

Bill and Charlie laughed, "They've been very well behaved considering that they're….them."

Mrs Weasley looked a little sceptical but she smiled. "I have dinner ready and your father will be back from work at any moment now. Hopefully, Percy will be back as well."

"Ah, how is Percy settling in his new job?" Bill asked.

"Oh, he's doing so well," Mrs Weasley gushed proudly. "He says that Mr Crouch is filled with praise for his work and he really does work hard."

Fred and George snickered.

Ron turned to the house and started to make his way toward it. Hermione, who had been quietly standing beside him, looked at him questioningly. He didn't say anything as he once more felt a little on the outside of his family.

"You okay?" Hermione asked quietly.

"Sure," Ron muttered.

"What are the two of you whispering about?" Ginny asked.

"Don't do that," Ron said as he jumped and glared at his little sister. "You scared me!"

"Baby," Ginny rolled her eyes. "Well?"

"Nothing," Hermione said with a shrug.

"Hm," Ginny hummed but didn't look convinced. "Well, did you have fun?"

"Yes," Hermione nodded. "It was so interesting. So much to see."

"I bet," Ginny grumbled. "I don't see why I couldn't go. Mum is so overprotective and I don't see why you couldn't have fought more for me be allowed to go too."

Ron and Hermione exchanged a look. They did feel bad for her not being allowed to come.

"I'm sorry, Ginny," Hermione said.

Ginny huffed and looked away just as the other entered the kitchen as well and Mrs Weasley went over to the stove and continued with the food.

"Ginny why don't you help Hermione up with her bags and the rest of you get washed up before dinner," Mrs Weasley said.

...

Ron and Hermione went outside when they had finished dinner and had listened to Percy go on and on about Mr Crouch and the Ministry and did they mention; Mr Crouch? Ron was glad to be rid of him. He had not missed the way Percy would go on about work and rules all the time.

"I did not miss him," Ron groaned. "I can't believe how he goes on about Mr Crouch…You'd think they were dating or something."

"Ron!" Hermione looked scandalised but her lips twitched slightly as well. "He's your brother!"

"So," Ron muttered. "Well…"

"There you are," Ginny said and Ron jumped again.

"Seriously, Ginny!" Ron cried. "Make some noise or something!"

Hermione laughed and Ginny's lips twitched.

"Bet you're glad you missed all the Ministry talk this summer," Ginny said.

"Mm," Ron nodded.

Just then there was a sound like a twig breaking that had them look to the side and saw a large black dog stepping barley out from the shadows from the bush. He stared at them for a moment while Ron and Hermione gaped.

"The dog is back again," Ginny murmured. "He showed up yesterday and stayed for a bit before leaving… I wonder what kind of dog he is… Maybe his owner is in town?"

The dog barked came closer to them making Ginny eye it curiously, while Ron blinked and Hermione worried her lip. Two of the three there recognised the dog and was inwardly freaking out.

"He seems to know you," Ginny said surprised when the dog jogged over to Hermione and Ron and nudged their hands and they both patted his head.

"Um, no…" Ron said his ears turning red.

"Maybe he's just friendly?" Hermione asked.

"Maybe," Ginny said. "Though he didn't come close to me yesterday and I was trying to get him to come closer."

Hermione just shrugged.

"We'll walk him back toward the village," Ron said. "Maybe we can find his owner?"

"I'll come…" Ginny started but just then Mrs Weasley called her. "Or not…"

Ginny grumbled as she left and Ron let out a relieved sigh.

...

They walked to the lake and the part that was hidden from the house before both Ron and Hermione turned toward the dog that was not a dog anymore. In front of them stood a tall man with half-long dark hair, that had clearly been cut since they had last seen him, and his face was not as sunken as before but there was still clear signs of his imprisonment and dark bags under his grey eyes.

"Sirius!" Hermione gasped. "What…? You shouldn't be here!"

"I had to see you," he said with a rather hoarse voice. "She's missing."

Ron and Hermione exchanged looks.

"You know about Hari?" Ron asked.

Sirius looked at him, "yes. Remus wrote to me and told me and I did see in the papers that she had been suspended from school because you helped me."

"We didn't want to let her take the fault alone," Hermione said quietly.

"I know, Hermione," Sirius said. "She probably didn't let you get a say in it. She's a lot like James like that."

There was no mistaking the pride in his voice as he said that.

"But what I want to know is where she is now," Sirius said looking at them. "Remus said that she's resigned from Hogwarts. Why would she do that?"

"We don't know," Hermione said.

"She never told us why," Ron added.

Sirius looked at them with a sharp look without saying anything for a long time. He just looked at them before he finally sighed.

"You're a lot like us," Sirius said. "I would deny it as well."

"What?" Ron frowned.

"Hari never told us she was going;" Hermione said. "We never heard from her."

"But that doesn't mean that you didn't figure out where she was," Sirius said. "Or that you've not been to see her now."

"What are you…?"

"Of course not…"

"If you didn't know where she was or how she was then you would be more concerned and not as relaxed," Sirius said. "And I doubt very much that you would decide to go on a vacation now just like that."

Hermione stared at him and silently cursed. She hadn't thought about that…

"They thought it was good for us to get away," Hermione said knowing she had to stick with the story. Hari didn't want anyone to know…

"Don't lie to me!" Sirius snapped his patience breaking. "Look, you are loyal to Hari. I get it. I appreciate it! But she's my goddaughter and I just got her back. I just got to see her again and have her in my life, even if it was just through letters from time to time. I can't lose her now! I can't…I have to know that she's safe and happy!"

Ron looked at him and then over at Hermione. He wanted to say something but he wasn't sure what to do… Hermione looked conflicted as well.

"Let us talk for a moment," Hermione said.

Sirius frowned but nodded.

"You should turn back into Padfoot just in case someone shows up," Hermione added and again Sirius nodded and they watched as he morphed into the large black dog and laid down letting his head rest on his paws while his eyes followed them.

...

"What do you think?" Hermione asked.

"I want to tell him, but…" Ron sighed. "Hari won't like it."

"Hari misses Sirius," Hermione said. "I know she does. She wished she got to know him better."

"But she doesn't want to be found," Ron said.

"I know," Hermione said.

"But I think we should tell him," Ron said and Hermione looked at him.

"Why?"

"Because he's here and he's taking a risk to come here to find her," Ron pointed out. "I think he'll do something stupid if we don't tell him and Hari will blame herself if he gets caught looking for her."

Hermione hummed, "I suppose. Should we write to Hari?"

Ron was quiet for a moment.

"We probably should, but…" he said.

"She'll only fret if we tell her and then she'll probably overthink it," Hermione frowned. "That tournament she's in now is important to her as well. We shouldn't interrupt her preparations."

"Agreed," Ron nodded. "So…we'll tell him?"

Hermione was silent for a moment. She felt conflicted. She wanted to tell him but she wanted to ask Hari as well, but she wasn't sure what Hari would say. She was not really that open to anything from her past now and had barely talked about Sirius while they had been there. But Hermione really did believe that Hari missed him and wished that she had the chance to get to know him better. He was a link to her parents after all.

...

"If we tell you what we know what are you planning to do?" Hermione asked as Sirius turned back to his human self.

"Find her and see for myself that she's happy and safe," Sirius said immediately.

"You're not going to tell Dumbledore?" Hermione asked.

"No," Sirius said. "Not unless she's in danger. Dumbledore seems to have lost her trust and for that to have happened he must have done something bad."

Hermione watched him for a moment.

"She's safe and happy," Hermione finally said. "She's found a place that has accepted her and sees her as Hari and not as the Girl-Who-Lived."

Sirius looked at them and they saw how he sank down onto a log and put his head in his hands as his shoulders shook lightly.

"She's safe…" he whispered. "Thank Merlin. I have been so scared…But why would she do something like this? What had her leave like that? Where did she go? To whom did she go?"

The questions came rapidly and he looked up as he seemed to have collected himself again.

...

 **Japan**

...

Hari stared.

The house was quiet and the only sound came from the soft gushing of wind through her window that was left open for Hedwig who was currently out hunting. Though, a purr broke the silence and Karupin came in through the window and landed gracefully on the floor before making his way over to her. He curled up next to her and looked at her with his brown eyes. But her mind was too distracted to really acknowledge Ryoma's cat as she stared. Stared at the puzzle that was finished. Stared at…

Herself.

And Seiichi.

She simply stared. It was a puzzle of them together, but it was four scenes put together almost like a comic strip. At least that was what she thought it resembled. Not that it was any real connection between the pictures; at least Hari didn't think so. Or on second thought; maybe there was a connection between the pictures now that Hari thought about it. It could be seen as the progression of their relationship, she guessed. But was she reading too much into it?

One was of them sitting on a bench facing each other, much like they had spent time together when they first started to hang out. Then the next picture was of them holding hands. The third one was of them sharing a kiss (she blushed looking at that remembering how soft his lips felt against her own). The last picture was of Seiichi handing her a flower. Just one flower.

She had seen it before and Seiichi had told her that the name of the flower was Lily of the Valley. When he discovered that she loved lilies he had showed her a lot of different types of the flower and she had really loved them all. But this one was her favourite because it looked so delicate but still strong. The white flower looked like a bell and she could imagine it swaying in the wind. Though it wasn't as delicate as it looked, it was highly poisonous with a sweet scent. Hari thought it was brilliant.

And Seiichi knew that. That had to be why he had chosen the flower. She had looked up the meaning on the computer since she knew Seiichi loved that flowers had meaning and probably also chose one because of it (at least she hoped so) and found that the meaning of the flower was _Promise of Happiness._

Promise of Happiness. Did he wish to give her happiness? Promised that he would give her that? Or that he was happy with her and promised that he would stay happy with her? Or maybe that they were happy? That he would make her happy? That she made him happy?

Just how had he managed to get this done? She couldn't help but wonder about it. The pictures looked like they had been painted, and the puzzle was rather large. It took most of her free flooring in her bedroom and she really was wondering how she would be able to get around the room without having to take the puzzle apart. She never wanted to take it apart…

But how had he managed to get this done? She had to ask him. She had to find out because it was making her crazy. She smiled and giggled as Karupin jumped into her lap and nuzzled closer and she hugged the cat closer to her chest as she laughed (remembering to keep quiet since it was the middle of the night – who needed sleep?).

"Perfect," she whispered. "He's perfect."

...

"Hari!"

Hari jerked awake and sat up rubbing her eyes as she grimaced feeling stiff and sore and her shoulder throbbed something fierce. She sat up grimacing all the way as she realised that she had fallen asleep on the floor. That was probably not a good idea seeing as she was also feeling the effects from the match the day before and now her body was protesting it.

"Why are you on the floor?" Ryoma asked and Hari realised that he was standing in the doorway and was looking at her with a raised brow. He looked behind her and blinked. "You finished the puzzle?"

"Mm," Hari nodded and got to her feet before sitting down on the bed again and rolled her shoulder experimentally. It hurt.

"You okay?" Ryoma asked stepping closer with a concerned look on his face.

"Fine," Hari said, "though my shoulder hurts slightly."

"Hm," Ryoma frowned. "You should try to take it easy today, then. Oh, did Yukimura make that?"

"Yeah," Hari smiled knowing she was blushing.

Ryoma glanced at her before he shook his head. "You're late."

"Late?" Hari blinked. "For what?"

"We're supposed to meet the team today, remember?" Ryoma said. "Something about team bonding or something. Maybe we'll go bowling again."

Hari opened her mouth before she closed it again. Right. She had forgotten about that.

"Right," she said. "But…"

"You want to go and find your boyfriend;" Ryoma said. "Well, I guess I can say you were busy."

"Thank you!" Hari beamed and Ryoma shook his head.

"Your hair is a mess by the way," he said as he turned to leave and Hari stuck out her tongue at him as she pulled a hand through her hair grimacing as she felt the knots in it. Apparently sleeping on the floor wasn't good for her hair either.

"Oh, look at that," Rinko said as she and Nanjiro stepped into the room. "That's beautiful."

Nanjiro made a strange sound as he stared at the puzzle. It almost sounded like a whimper.

"He made that?" Rinko asked looking at Hari.

"I think so," Hari nodded. "Don't know how, though."

"Hm," Nanjiro frowned.

"Otou-chan?" Hari looked at him.

"He's up to something," Nanjiro said.

"Dear," Rinko sighed. "Don't be overdramatic."

"But…"

"No," Rinko said and pushed him toward the door. "You should go to the shrine now…and Hari-chan, it's a nice puzzle."

Hari nodded and smiled lightly as she watched Rinko push her husband out of the room and Nanjiro muttering something.

...

Hari took a long shower and the hot water helped against her aching muscles and even though her shoulder still throbbed it was better than it had been. She got dressed before picking up her bag and was on her way out the door when she was suddenly faced with Akiyama Yuko.

"Ah, there you are!" Akiyama Yuko said.

Hari stopped abruptly and frowned.

"You guys have a tendency to just show up unannounced, don't you?" Hari said.

"Yeah, sorry about that!" Akiyama Yuko said.

Hari sighed. So much for going to watch Rikkai Dai's match against Fudomine…

"Fine," she said opening the door wider and allowing the other woman inside. "But can we please start setting some appointments from now on? It would be helpful…"

"We can talk about that," Akiyama Yuko agreed.

Hari huffed lightly and led the way to the office (Rinko had said she could use that for her magic lessons) since Rinko had left for work already.

"I thought we could set up your schedule and classes," Akiyama Yuko said. "I have found a tutor for you as well and will bring him the next time."

"Who is he?" Hari asked.

"He's a recent graduate from Mahoutokoro and has started to work for the DME," Akiyama Yuko said. "He was a good student and we think he is the right choice in helping you."

"And he will keep the secret?" Hari asked concerned.

"Yes," Akiyama nodded. "He will."

Hari wasn't sure what she thought about it, but she supposed she didn't really have a choice in the matter. She had agreed to study the subjects on her own and she knew she would need the help. At least it would help her stay on track and there wouldn't be any easy ways of postponing the work she needed to get done.

"Of course, Shotaro and I will also help you from time to time," Akiyama Yuko said. "We will be keeping an eye on things and help when you get to particularly difficult parts of the subjects that there might be a need for extra help."

Hari nodded.

Hari watched Akiyama Yuko leave and frowned. It was now decided that she would have the lessons or tutoring lessons (or whatever it was to be called) every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. The Sunday lessons would be earlier on the day so that it could last longer if needed, but basically it was decided that the lessons should be about two hours long.

Hari sighed and glanced at the clock. It was already past noon, but if she was lucky she would get to the tennis courts in time to catch the last of Rikkai Dai's match. If she left now.

She got ready and hurried out the door ignoring the throbbing shoulder and made a mental note to mention it to Rinko later. She had promised after her last injury that she would say something if she got hurt, and she didn't want to do something that could turn bad again. She had no desire to scare her family or friends again like that, but an injured shoulder wasn't the same as the bruised rib she'd had. Right?

...

Hari was stunned. She had known that Seiichi's team was good. Of course, they were, but… actually seeing it was different. She had not made herself known to Seiichi since she had arrived late but she had gotten to see most of their matches anyway.

And Rikkai Dai had completely crushed Fudomine. Hari winced internally at the harsh word even if it was just her thoughts, but she couldn't help but think it. There wasn't really any other word for it. She could see the shocked expressions on the Fudomine's players and she knew it had to sting.

Though, it was only the match between Tachibana and Kirihara that bothered Hari. The others had been fair and had just simply been better than Fudomine. Hari was wondering how they would be able to beat them, but that would be a problem for another day.

But the match between Tachibana and Kirihara had been…rough. And that was almost a nice way of putting it. To an untrained eye, it looked like Tachibana was hanging in there and keeping up with Kirihara, and considering the fact that Tachibana had twisted his ankle pretty early in the match… Well, Hari had seen how Kirihara had taken advantage of that.

Tachibana was now being helped onto a stretcher and Hari couldn't help but feel for him. She saw An looking worriedly down at him and only Kamio was holding her back from throwing herself at her brother. Hari could only imagine how she must feel. If it had been Ryoma on that stretcher…

Her eyes found Kirihara Akaya and saw the smirk on his lips. He looked almost pleased and Hari narrowed her eyes. The fun-loving, sometimes childish boy, she knew was not seen in the boy on the court, he had been different during the match. It was almost like he had been someone completely different…

Hari swallowed and pushed herself off the tree she had been leaning against as she had watched the matches and moved toward the court. She saw the moment Seiichi noticed her and saw his widened eyes but she didn't go over to him. Not right away.

She wasn't sure what she thought about how he had not interfered. But what did she really expect? It wasn't like he could do anything, was there?

"An-chan?" Hari said stepping up behind An just as they carried Tachibana away and Hari just nodded to the Fudomine Captain as he was carried off. He nodded back with a brave smile on his face.

"Hari-chan," An said turning to look at her. Her eyes were bleary with unshed tears and Hari felt worried and at a loss for words. "You're here?"

"I came a little late," Hari admitted and motioned over to the trees. "I watched from over there."

"I see," An sniffed. "You're here to watch your boyfriend's team."

There was a coldness to her voice that Hari hadn't heard before that made Hari frown lightly. She glanced over at Seiichi who was looking at her but talking with Sanada and Yanagi Renji.

"And your team," Hari said.

"Hm," An said shortly. "Well, I should get to the hospital."

"Right," Hari said. "Um…Can I do anything to help you?"

An looked at her for a moment and Hari wondered about the anger she saw in An's eyes. There was pain there as well and worry. Hari wished she could do something to help, but there was nothing she could say at the moment.

"No," An said. "Just…no."

"Come on, An-chan," Kamio said pulling at her arm. "We're ready to go."

An nodded.

"I'll never forgive them if Kippei-nii-chan is injured for a long time," An said looking at Hari. "They never treated us with respect! They toyed with us! How can you be with someone who plays like that?"

Hari blinked at the anger in An's voice. It took her by surprise, well maybe not because Hari would have been angry herself if it had been Ryoma injured like this, but still. Rikkai Dai hadn't toyed with them, they were just better. It might seem like they had done that, but Hari knew it came from the difference in skill. It had nothing to do with respect or not. Actually, Hari thought that Rikkai Dai had shown Fudomine respect by not holding back. They did everything they could to win and didn't underestimate them.

"That's not fair," Hari said.

"You're defending them," An narrowed her eyes. "I should have known."

"An," Hari started but An just glared at her and turned around to walk away without letting Hari finish what she was going to say (not that she knew what she wanted to say).

Why did An get angry at her because of how Rikkai Dai played tennis? How was that even fair? Hari felt annoyed and angry but also sad and upset. She didn't want An to be angry at her.

...

"You okay?" Seiichi asked when Hari made her way over to him and by default his team.

"Sure," Hari said. "Congratulations on your win. Guess we'll see you at the finals."

"Yes!" Kirihara grinned.

Hari gave him an unreadable look. She tried to connect the boy she had gotten to know and the one she had seen on the court. There was something off there, but she wasn't sure what. His smile faltered when she didn't respond to his smile and the others looked a little uncomfortable as well.

"We look forward to it," Yanagi said breaking the awkward silence that fell.

Hari nodded. "Good."

"I didn't see you," Seiichi said. "And I didn't know you were coming."

"Just decided this morning," Hari said remembering the puzzle and why she had really come. How quickly feelings could change… Not that she felt any different about Seiichi. Not at all, she was still awed by the puzzle and a little thrown by it, but the giddy happiness had faded having seen the match and the outcome. She also felt bad because An seemed to be angry at her for something that wasn't Hari's fault and Hari didn't like it.

"We're done for today," Sanada said stoically and Hari glanced over at him and saw him look at her before looking at Seiichi. "You came here to steal Seiichi away, right?"

Hari couldn't help it. Her lips twitched amused because hearing Sanada say that with a completely serious face was amusing.

"Yup!" Hari said with a quick grin despite the confusion she felt. "I planned on kidnapping him for the rest of the day!"

Seiichi chuckled and rolled his eyes, "don't think you really need to kidnap me, Hari-chan."

"Good, because that would be a lot of work and I doubt your sister will be very happy with me if I kidnapped you," Hari nodded.

"Go," Sanada said rolling his eyes.

...

"He's not as stern as he tries to make everyone believe, is he?" Hari asked when she and Seiichi were on their own walking out of the park.

"Genichiro? No," Seiichi smiled, "or he has a sense of humour behind the stoic nature, I guess. At least if he feels comfortable around someone. I guess he's gotten used to you showing up from time to time."

"Good," Hari said. She did want Seiichi's best friend to be comfortable around her too and hopefully, they would become friends as well. Thinking about that Hari thought she should try to spend more time with Seiichi and his team, which was probably the easiest way for her to become friends with his friends. Or better friends, she guessed. Would Seiichi want that?

They walked in silence for a little while and Hari glanced down at their hands that were connected. His hand was warm in hers.

"You're rather quiet," Seiichi said after a while.

"Just thinking," Hari said.

"About?"

Hari sighed and looked around. She saw another small park with a playground that was empty so she pulled him over to the swings and sat down on one of them while he took the other one.

"Why did he play like that?" Hari asked.

"Akaya, you mean?" Seiichi asked looking at her twisting the chain on the swing to turn the swing toward her and face her.

"Yes," Hari nodded.

"We don't know," Seiichi admitted. "That's not the worst of his play either, but he tends to lose to what we call his demonic side when playing."

"But why?" Hari asked. "If he plays like that…why do you let him play?"

Seiichi was quiet for a while.

"Because he's good," Seiichi said. "And he works hard."

"He injured Tachibana," Hari said simply. "Don't say that Kirihara didn't notice how Tachibana twisted his ankle at the start of their game."

Seiichi nodded slowly, "I know."

"I am not so naïve to think that everyone plays the same or that to use certain things to your advantage in a match is wrong," Hari said. "I don't think that but…to deliberately injure someone… I don't like it. It's not fair play."

"We're working on having him find a balance between both of his sides." Seiichi said.

Hari looked at him. She didn't like it. She didn't agree that putting him on the court when he purposely tried to injure someone in order to win, and she wasn't sure she understood why Seiichi (and the rest of the Rikkai Dai for that matter) allowed it.

"Akaya is a good guy," Seiichi said. "He's just…aggressive."

"Aggressive?" Hari arched a brow. "That was not just aggressive, Sei-chan."

Hari got off the swing and took a few steps away from Seiichi and had her back turned to him. She fisted her hands at her sides as she tried to think and connect the thoughts that were spinning and confusing. She didn't like this feeling, the feeling of resentment and upset. Toward Seiichi… the lovely and perfect Seiichi.

"Hari-chan," Seiichi said and realised that he had followed and was standing right behind her.

"You're the coach for your team, right?" Hari asked. "You and Sanada?"

"Yes," Seiichi said.

"So you're the one who decides that he's going to play?" Hari had to ask.

Seiichi was quiet for a moment, "yes."

Hari inhaled and closed her eyes.

"Hari," Seiichi said and it wasn't lost on Hari that he had dropped the –chan behind her name and her kind of missed it. "You don't have to understand, but Akaya is my teammate and my friend. He has supported me through my sickness and really works hard. He does go too far at times and we try to keep him in line, but it's not easy. You don't know everything he struggles with."

"That doesn't make it right," Hari said quietly.

"It doesn't mean that others have the right to judge him either," Seiichi said.

Hari turned and frowned at Seiichi who had a serious look on his face.

"What? You think…" Hari asked angrily.

"Sounds like it to me," Seiichi said.

"Fine," Hari said. "Then maybe I should just go then."

"Alright," Seiichi said.

Hari couldn't help but flinch at the quick agreement and cold voice. A voice she had never heard him use against her before. She turned and walked away angry that he could accuse her of judging when all she did was express her concerns. And An's hurt look also crossed her mind making her even more angry and upset that Seiichi had allowed…

...

Nanjiro was lying on the floor reading a magazine when he heard the front door opened followed by footsteps running up the stairs and the slamming of a bedroom door. He looked up at the ceiling with a frown on his face just as Rinko came out of the office having stopped by at home to pick something up.

"Who was that?" Nanjiro asked.

"Probably Hari-chan," Rinko said and Nanjiro frowned and started to get up. "No, I'll go."

Nanjiro pouted but settled down at the floor again while Rinko walked up the stairs. He wanted to go and check on Hari as well but knew that Rinko had a better chance to help her. Probably. He hummed.

Rinko knocked on the door and waited but there was no response from inside. She knocked again before she pushed the door open and saw Hari sitting on the bed and stared at the puzzle that was still lying on the floor.

"Hari-chan?" Rinko asked.

"What?" Hari didn't turn around to look at her.

"What's wrong?" Rinko asked.

"Nothing," Hari said shortly. "I want to be alone."

Rinko watched her for a moment conflicted on whether or not to leave her alone as she wanted.

"Did you and Yukimura-kun have a fight?" Rinko asked.

Hari's shoulders tensed. "I don't want to talk about it."

"That's fine," Rinko said. "I'm here if you want to talk, but can I just give you one piece of advice?"

"What?" Hari asked.

"Every couple fight," Rinko said making Hari frown. "I don't know what you fought about, but to allow the anger fester for a long time will not help your relationship."

"He won't want me anymore now," Hari muttered. "He's angry at me…"

"Talk to him, Hari-chan," Rinko said. "Relationship takes work and it's not always easy. The people that we care about also make mistakes."

Hari frowned but didn't say anything and Rinko decided that she had said enough and would allow Hari to think things through on her own. There was nothing more she could really do.

...

Hari thought about what Rinko had said as she remembered her argument with Seiichi. It was different from him being jealous about Saeki, this wasn't anything like that. He had looked so cold and his voice…he had sounded so detached like she didn't matter to him at all. It hurt.

It hurt something bad. Worse than the throbbing in her shoulder.

Okay, so maybe she had questioned him about his team and she probably shouldn't have done that. But still, the way Kirihara had played… Should she just pretend that it was okay?

 _Well, you kind of ignored it when it was Keigo who played like that against Tezuka,_ a pesky voice in her mind said.

That was different, Hari thought back. It was not the same. Keigo wasn't really wanting to…no, she remembered feeling upset and angry during the match.

But still…that doesn't change the way Kirihara play or that Seiichi allows it, she thought stubbornly.

 _But why do you make it a big deal now and not when it was Keigo? When it was Tezuka who got hurt?_

Hari frowned as the voice asked the questions she didn't want to answer. Why was it different? Besides, it had been Tezuka who had gone for the long match, not Keigo.

 _Poor defence, that. Doesn't explain your reaction._

Hari scowled and thought; shut up.

 _Telling yourself to shut up. First sign of madness, my dear._

She grimaced. She was going mad. Talking or rather arguing with herself must be a sign of madness, but it didn't take away the truth in the argument. She did put Seiichi at a higher standard than anyone else and…and that wasn't really fair.

She looked down at the puzzle and thought about all the work he must have put into it. The pictures looked to be painted by hand and she knew he liked to paint and draw, and she had a really strong hunch that he had been the one painting this. How long had he been working on this?

She had not thought that the day would turn out like this when she had gone to see him. But still, how could he accuse her of judging Kirihara? She still felt that her questions were fair.

Rinko had said that everyone made mistakes even the one we cared about. Hari knew that. She looked at the last picture of Seiichi handing her the Lily of the Valley and swallowed. This side of him was so perfect, so good and kind. He was the kindest person she had ever met. She couldn't imagine him hurting anyone, but…but she had not really seen him playing tennis or even his team play before. She suddenly realised this and maybe they had a different side to them that she hadn't seen yet.

Did she really hold him above everyone else? Had she placed him on a pedestal thinking that he would never make any mistakes? That he would be perfect?

"I need Hermione," she muttered. "If only they were still here…"

She needed to talk to someone about this. Someone like Hermione. She could write to her but it was no guarantee that she was looking at the notebook now and it wasn't really the way she needed to talk to someone. She would have called An, but she was angry at Hari too.

That annoyed Hari as well. Why did An have to be angry at her because of how Kirihara had played? That wasn't fair either. Hari had nothing to do with Rikkai Dai and how they played, even if she was Seiichi's girlfriend.

...

"You're back early," Sanada said looking up from the book he had been reading when Seiichi came into the room they shared at Seiichi's aunt and uncle's house. The rest of the team was out doing something but Sanada often pulled away like this after matches.

"Suppose so," Seiichi muttered.

Sanada looked at him. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Seiichi said.

Sanada arched a brow, "alright."

Seiichi sat down at the bed and looked down at his hands. He was angry but also confused. She had looked so hurt…but why had she talked about Kirihara like that? She didn't know him! She had no right to…

"Okay, you're projecting;" Sanada spoke up. "Did you guys have a fight?"

"Leave it, Genichiro," Seiichi said.

"You talk like you think I'm afraid of you, Seiichi," Sanada said. "What happened? You left with Hari-chan and it looked to be good, so why are you angry now?"

Seiichi glared at his best friend who just arched a brow back at him. Everyone else would have backed off by now but Sanada was different. He knew Seiichi too well and wouldn't back down just because Seiichi glared. Stupid best friend…

"Maybe I just don't want to talk," Seiichi said.

"Then why did you come back here?" Sanada challenged. "If you didn't want to talk then you would have gone to your garden or something. Not to where I was and you know I would pick up on your mood. So start talking."

Seiichi frowned. That was a good point and he silently cursed both of them because it was true…

"She didn't like how Akaya played," Seiichi said.

Sanada nodded, "no, it looked like she was trying to figure him out or something when she looked at him earlier. She's not the first one to question his playing style, though."

"But she doesn't know everything and I don't…she was judging him," Seiichi said.

Sanada hummed, "why are you so upset because of this?"

"What?" Seiichi looked at him.

"So she doesn't like how Akaya plays," Sanada said. "I don't see why you should be so upset over it."

Seiichi frowned. "I…I don't know."

"Well, I guess it would be easier if we had a coach and it was their decision to let him play," Sanada said. "She questioned why you let him play?"

"Yes," Seiichi sighed.

"Fair," Sanada nodded. "But I don't think she was judging you, Seiichi. Maybe she was just wondering what you were thinking about it?"

"It's not that easy to explain," Seiichi said. "I tried, but…"

Sanada nodded, "well, I can't say what you should do or think about it. I don't know if Hari-chan will see it as a problem or not, but…why did you get angry because of this? It's not the first time someone has questioned you."

"But they weren't Hari-chan!" Seiichi said without thinking.

Sanada nodded, "no, and you care about what she thinks about you."

"Of course I do," Seiichi grumbled. "I don't want her judging me and look at me with that look…the disappointment in her eyes was so vivid and I just…"

Sanada nodded again. "I get it. What are you going to do about it?"

 **...**

 **...**

 **AN:** **What do you think? XD**

 **A little conflict in this one... I hope you liked it. I thought it is necessary for the development and all that... XD**

 **What do you about the puzzle? And about Sirius? He'll probably show up soon... Any wishes for how he will handle that? Should Ron and Hermione warn Hari about telling him? XD Just curious about your thoughts about this. ;)**

 **Thank you for reading and supporting the story! XD**


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